No fewer than 40 members, mostly women and children, were abducted by armed bandits from 11 communities in Mayanchi district of Maru Local Council Area of Zamfara State.

Sources said the bandits were foot soldiers of a notorious bandit kingpin, Kachalla Sa’idu, who has allegedly been terrorising Maradun, Talata Mafara and Maru local council areas of the state.

When The Guardian visited some of the communities, women and children were seen packing their belongings and fleeing in fear of being kidnapped.

One Lauwali Abdullahi narrated that about a week ago, Sa’idu’s boys attacked Garagi village and kidnapped people, adding that one of the attackers was killed when they confronted the bandits. However, he said Sa’idu has threatened to attack all the nearby villages up to Mayanchi town if the villagers do not return the deceased attacker’s gun.

According to a source, he also sent a message to the leaders of the village threatening to kill all the people in his custody if his seized gun or a new one was not returned.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of Maru Local Council Area, Bello Jabaka, confirmed the development to newsmen, saying the council and security agencies were taking appropriate action to tackle the insecurity in Mayanchi district.

In a similar development, a resident of Aboki Community in Kaiama Local Council Area of Kwara State was killed when suspected terrorists attacked the area. However, two others earlier abducted were rescued by security operatives and local vigilantes who confronted the attackers.

According to reports, the armed terrorists stormed the community on Tuesday, creating panic among residents. However, security operatives, working alongside local vigilante groups, swiftly mobilised and pursued the terrorists on receiving information about the attack.

Meanwhile, residents of the Aboki community have expressed concern over the recurring security threats in parts of the Kaiama council and other parts of Kwara State.

In Ondo State, gunmen suspected to be kidnappers also abducted a farmer identified as Funke Falolu, and two others in Agbaje community of Ala-Elefosan in Idanre Local Council Area of Ondo State.

The victims, comprising two women and one male, were seized while working on their farm settlement in the agrarian community.

However, a family source close to one of the victims disclosed on condition of anonymity that the abductors have established contact with the families, demanding a ransom of N5 million for each of the three captives.

The source added that the incident has been reported to the Ala Police Station and the Ondo State Security Network Agency, codenamed Amotekun.

Lamenting that “these criminals operate freely in the forests,” the source said the people are left to their fate.

When contacted, the police public relations officer for the Ondo State Command, Abayomi Jimoh, assured that the incident would be investigated.