Gunmen killed a local security volunteer and 10 of his relatives, burned their bodies and torched their home, and abducted 13 other people in a weekend attack on Gidan Taba village in Zamfara state, northwestern Nigeria, police said on Monday.

Source: Reuters

Zamfara police spokesperson Yazid Abubakar said the gunmen attacked the volunteer in Gidan Taba, in the Maradun district, after he had repeatedly helped security forces fend off incursions by criminal gangs into the community, Reuters reported. Many states in northwestern Nigeria rely on groups of local volunteers to help defend villages and towns because the security forces are stretched, fighting Islamist militants as well as the armed gangs known locally as bandits.

Source: Reuters

Local reporting by Daily Trust identified the head of the family as Mallam Muhammadu Sani. Residents told the newspaper the attackers reached the family home at about 10 pm on Saturday night, and that family members locked themselves inside a room to escape being abducted before the attackers set the room ablaze. The victims were buried on Sunday morning in accordance with Islamic rites, Daily Trust reported. Speaking to Daily Trust by telephone, police spokesperson DSP Yazid Abubakar described the head of the family as an active member of the community vigilante group, saying: “The head of the family is one of the strongest vigilantes who was blocking bandits from attacking the community.”

Source: Daily Trust

Death toll and abduction figures differ between officials

Police told Platinum Post that tactical operatives, working with other security agencies and local vigilantes, have intensified search and rescue efforts to recover the abducted residents. Authorities have not released a complete list of those taken, and it was not clear whether the attackers had contacted any families.

Source: Platinum Post

Second deadly attack in Maradun within days

The Gidan Taba attack came barely a week after bandits ambushed security personnel at Gidan Kano, along the Gusau–Sokoto highway in the same Maradun local government area, killing five policemen who were travelling to provide security during a party primary rerun, according to Daily Trust. A compilation by the newspaper of media reports and humanitarian assessments counted more than 100 people killed in bandit attacks across Zamfara state in the six months between May 1 and November 7.

Source: Daily Trust

Northwestern Nigeria has faced years of attacks by armed gangs who raid villages, kill residents, abduct people for ransom and loot homes, Reuters reported. No group has claimed responsibility for the Gidan Taba attack in the reports published so far, and there is no verified evidence linking it to a named terrorist organisation.

What happens next: police are expected to clarify the final death toll and the number of people abducted, while the search for those taken continues. Awaaz Punjab will update this story when officials confirm revised figures.