Terrorists abduct 44 residents, place N20m ‘protection levy’ on Zamfara community

At least 44 residents, including 39 women and children and five men, were abducted in Kanwa village in Zurmi Local Government Area. Zamfara State Thursday night

Two local sources, however, told PREMIUM TIMES that five women managed to escape from the terrorists’ camp.

Kanwa, surrounded by hills, lies below Zurmi but closer to the Kaura Namoda area. It is also close to the spooky Rugu Forest.

A local source in Zurmi village, Musa Abdullahi, told PREMIUM TIMES on telephone that the terrorists invaded the community at night.

“They went straight to the town square and started gathering the residents. You know most of the time, men run into the bush because they know bandits kill mostly men. The five men taken were unlucky,” he said.

He said the terrorists suspected to be from Dankarami’s camp were yet to contact the families of the hostages to discuss the ransom payment.

Another source, who requested anonymity for security reasons, also said that five of the 39 women escaped.

“Yes, they came back the same night (Thursday) but some guards had to help them get home, because it was at night. They said they escaped because of the large number of hostages,” he said.

He said the escapees were lucky to have followed a different route while the terrorists were taking the victims to their hideouts.

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The source, who is currently in Kaura Namoda, said the community has been left empty. “Now there is no one. Most of the people are in Kaura Namoda village now because it is relatively safer,” he said.

N20m protection fee

Meanwhile, terrorists operating along the Shinkafi – Moriki – Isa axis have placed a N20 million protection levy on Moriki town near Zurmi.

Moriki has witnessed terrorist attacks for years and has been one of the most affected in the region.

Jamilu Shehu, a community member, said residents have started collecting money to pay the fee.

Mr. Shehu said the agreement was reached when some elders of the community met with a group of terrorists from Bello Turji’s camp.

“A few weeks ago, when some of our villagers were kidnapped when the ransom money was collected, some of our elders went to pay the ransom and decided to talk to the bandits. They said we have to pay a total of N20 million for protection, which includes free access to our farms.

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“They also promised to protect us from the attacks of other bandits in the area. In fact, they said from here to Birnin Gwari, wherever any of our residents are kidnapped, we should inform them. But the problem is getting the money,” Mr. Shehu, who is a youth leader, told PREMIUM TIMES on the phone.

He added that the elders of the community have accepted the decision and it has been decided that each household should pay not less than N6,500 to make this amount.

When PREMIUM TIMES called the state police spokesman, Mohammed Shehu, he said he could not hear our reporter very well because he was driving.

He was sent a message but did not respond for over an hour before the story was filed.

Communities especially in Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna, Sokoto and Niger states have been forced to pay millions of naira as protection tax to the terrorists before they go to their farms or allow them to live peacefully in their homes.

But the deal is mostly abused as the terrorists always renege on their promise and go back to their old ways of attacking their neighbors.