Insecurity: Highest Casualties From Zamfara, Borno As 97 Got Killed, Kidnapped In 4 Days

Zamfara and Borno states recorded the highest numbers of kidnappings and deaths as a result of insecurity in Nigeria in the previous week, data from the Nigeria Security Tracker has shown.

The catalogue of violent incidents driven by political and socio-economic grievances noted that 97 people either lost their lives or were abducted during violent incidents between Monday, June 15, and Friday, June 19.

With victims respectively numbering up to 25 and 20, Zamfara and Borno topped the list. Also, seventeen people were affected in Katsina, 15 in Niger, seven in Delta, three in Bayelsa, two in Benue, and one each in Adamawa, Nasarawa, Ondo, and the Federal Capital Territory.

Five attacks took place on Monday, three on Tuesday, two on Wednesday, two on Thursday, and four on Friday.

Out of the casualties, 40 were victims of kidnapping, 13 others were civilians, seven were state actors, and two were sectarian actors. Also killed were 20 members of the Boko Haram terror group, 12 armed actors, and three kidnappers.

In total, 57 people were killed in the period.

Twenty-five people from Bindin, a community in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara, were abducted on Thursday.

“They were going from one house to another picking people. They then drove the kidnapped persons into the forest asking their relatives to pay for ransom before they could be released,” one of the residents said.

“One of the kidnapped victims managed to escape and a woman was released because she is nursing a baby.”

Eight residents of Katsina’s Batsari Local Government Area were killed during a raid by terrorists last Friday.

Meanwhile, outside the period covered in the latest NST database, HumAngle reported that on Saturday that at least 26 residents of the Dansadau Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara were killed and others sustained injuries following a terrorist attack.

“They stormed the community when most of the people were at their farms and markets,” a witness told this paper. “This is the first time they are succeeding in Ruwan Tofa. Many times they have wanted to invade but the people resisted them.”

Another resident, Jamilu Ruwan Tufa, said, “They came on over 100 bikes, shooting sporadically; we tried to repel them but they were too many. So far we have counted 26 but we are still trying to access the forest.”