Bandits kidnap 40 worshippers in Zamfara mosque

No fewer than 40 worshippers have been abducted by bandits in a mosque in Tsafe town, the headquarters of Tsafe Local Council of Zamfara State.A resident, Abubakar Tsafe, told newsmen that the bandits parked their motorcycles on the outskirts of the town, disguised in native attires and entered the town.
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“They did not enter with motorcycles; they parked them outside the town and entered with baba-riga (native dress), to deceive the people. They surrounded the Mosque and packed all the worshippers,” the resident said.
  
He also confirmed that members of the Zamfara State Community Protection Guards, also known as Askarawa, had been drafted to the bush to rescue the victims.
  
When contacted, the commander of the guards, Col. Rabiu Yandoto (rtd), said he was in a meeting and could not confirm the incident. Efforts to reach the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Yazid Abubakar, were unsuccessful, as he did not respond to phone calls made to him at the time of filing this report.
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HUNDREDS of protesters trooped to the streets and blocked the Kaduna-Abuja expressway, following the kidnap of residents of Gonigora Community by terrorists.
  
The bandits, who came in large numbers with sophisticated weapons, reportedly engaged soldiers in gun battle, on Wednesday from about 11p.m. till yesterday morning. A resident, who pleaded anonymity, said: “The terrorists kidnapped people from house to house before they escaped.
  
“The soldiers, who came later, engaged the bandits in a gun duel. In fact, many of the people could not sleep, because they were all in fear.”Phone calls by The Guardian to the spokesman of Kaduna Police Command, ASP Mansir Hassan, to confirm the incident as unsuccessful.
  
However, the Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, stated, yesterday: “The Kaduna State Security Council has warned against blockage of public roads and harassment of innocent citizens by persons conducting protests.”
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