Bandits have abducted the Chairman of Bungudu Local Government Area of Zamfara State, Nura Abdullahi, after attacking his residence in the early hours of Saturday and killing members of his security team.
Residents said the heavily armed attackers stormed Bungudu town before heading directly to the chairman’s residence, where they engaged security personnel in a fierce gun battle.
An indigene of the community, Abdullahi Na Allah Said, said the gunmen abducted the council chairman alongside members of his family.
“They kidnapped him along with his wife and their children and moved to the forest,” he said.
According to the resident, two police officers and two local vigilantes attached to the chairman’s residence were killed while attempting to repel the attackers.
Efforts to obtain comments from the Zamfara State Police Command were unsuccessful, as its spokesperson could not be reached.
Meanwhile, troops of Operation FANSAN YAMMA have launched an intensified search-and-rescue operation to secure the chairman’s release.
In a statement on Saturday, the Media Information Officer of the Joint Task Force (North West), Lt. Col. Aliyu Danja, said the terrorists overpowered the chairman’s security detail before abducting him and some members of his family.
He said troops responded after hearing gunfire and engaged the attackers in a fierce exchange.
According to Danja, the intervention forced the bandits to abandon five members of the chairman’s family, including his wife, mother, two children and another relative, who were successfully rescued.
However, the attackers escaped into nearby bushes with the council chairman.
The military said the attack claimed the lives of two police officers, one local vigilante and a civilian, while the chairman’s elder brother, Alhaji Bello Umar, sustained injuries.
Following the incident, the Theatre Command activated a coordinated rescue mission involving troops of Operation FANSAN YAMMA, the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services and local vigilantes.
Security forces are currently conducting operations at suspected terrorist hideouts in an effort to rescue the abducted chairman.
“The Theatre Command has deployed all available resources in the ongoing operation and remains in close coordination with participating security agencies,” the statement said.
The command assured the Zamfara State Government and residents that every lawful operational measure was being taken to secure the chairman’s safe release.
It also urged members of the public to remain calm, continue with their lawful activities and provide credible information through official security channels to support the ongoing operation.
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