Popular Senator’s Sister Shot Dead By Gunmen, Husband Abducted

The All Progressives Congress member representing Zamfara Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Senator Kabir Marafa, on Tuesday lamented the death of his sister who was killed along with about 14 others on Monday in Gusau Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
The state police spokesman, SP Muhammad Shehu, on Tuesday confirmed the killing of 15 persons and kidnap of some residents by gunmen.

Shehu said there was an attack on Monday on Wonaka, Ajja, Mada, Ruwan Baure, Doka, Takoka and Tudun-Maijatau; villages of Mada district in the Gusau area, NAN reports.

He said a woman was among those killed, adding that the attackers also kidnapped six women and a man.

However, Marafa in a telephone interview with our correspondent said his sister was killed, while her husband was abducted.

He added that more than 50 people in communities in the Gusau LGA had been killed in the past three days.

The senator said, “I have been able to establish that the killings have been going on in the community where my sister was living in the last three days.

“The killers have been parading the areas, killing people and burning down villages. The town is a district headquarters and when the bandits invaded the place, they went straight to her (sister) home, killed her and abducted her husband.

“The first day they killed nine people in one village; the second day, they killed about 16 in another village and set the village ablaze afterwards.”

The senator said that his in-law had not been found as of Tuesday evening.

But Shehu said calm had been restored to the area. The police officer said, “With the efforts of the police and other security agencies, the abducted women have regained their freedom and have re-joined their families.

“Calm has been restored to the affected villages, with improved deployment of the PMF, CTU, special forces and military teams in the area to forestall further attacks.”