Emerging reports say fifty elderly residents of Magamin Diddi village in the Magami/Faru Ward of Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State, who embarked on a peace mission to reconcile with bandits terrorising their communities, have been kidnapped after visiting the bandits’ hideout.
The Chairman of Maradun LGA, Bello Dosara, confirmed the incident, saying the villagers met with bandit kingpin Jammo without government approval.
Dosara added that Jammo, who operates from Muntsira Forest, was responsible for the abduction.
“We are against reconciliation with bandits, and Governor Dauda Lawal has never supported it, but unknown to us, the people went ahead,” Dosara said.
He confirmed that 11 of the abducted villagers have been released, while 39 remain in captivity. “He released some to brief the people on the incident,” he said.
The Councillor representing Magami/Faru Ward, Bello Husseini, said Jammo requested reconciliation after one of his fighters was killed in a recent military operation in Kandare village.
It was learnt that the villagers accepted the request despite the state’s policy against negotiating with bandits.
Husseini stated that Jammo is now demanding N24 million in exchange for three rifles seized from his lieutenants during a previous clash with the Zamfara security outfit, Askarawa.
“We are against any form of reconciliation because they are not trustworthy. The people he held hostage were elderly, and he betrayed them after claiming he was tired of banditry,” Husseini said.
Both Dosara and Husseini called on the government and security agencies to launch an offensive against Muntsira Forest, arguing that bandits operating there have never faced sustained military confrontation.
