Suspected bandits have abducted Bala Muhammad, the Vice Chairman of Bukkuyum Local Government, along with several other passengers on a highway in Zamfara State.
According to residents, the attackers deviated from their usual method of using motorcycles and instead carried out the operation with a bus to evade security and local surveillance.
The incident occurred on Monday evening as Mr. Muhammad, three council employees, and other travelers were en route from Bukkuyum to Gusau, the state capital.
Eyewitness Haruna Malam reported that the armed group forced the victims out of their vehicles at gunpoint and into a bus stationed a short distance from the main road.
Eyewitness Account
One individual, Usman Dantsoho, a tree cutter from Gadarmanya village in Anka Local Government Area, managed to escape the attack.
Mr. Dantsoho recounted that while gathering firewood in the forest, he heard four gunshots coming from the Anka-Bukkuyum road.
“I immediately fled and climbed a tree to hide. From there, I saw the armed men intercept a moving vehicle and force the occupants into their bus. Later, when I returned home, I learned that the Vice Chairman of Bukkuyum was among those taken,” he told reporters.
Insecurity in Zamfara
Bukkuyum, along with Shinkafi, Maradun, Zurmi, Anka, Talata Mafara, and Tsafe, is among the Zamfara local government areas frequently targeted by bandits.
Efforts to reach Zamfara police spokesperson Abubakar Sadiq for a comment were unsuccessful.
