The police say they have recovered the bodies of five people killed by a group of armed bandits who attacked a village in Zamfara State.
Spokesperson for the Zamfara State Police Command, Mohammed Shehu, disclosed this while confirming the attack in a statement on Thursday.
He said the bandits invaded Gidan Halilu village in Billashe district of Birnin Magaji Local Government Area (LGA) on Wednesday and attacked some villagers who were on their farms.
Shehu explained that the command got the report of the attack and consequently deployed personnel of the Police Mobile Force (PMF) and Counter-Terrorism Unit (CTU), as well as conventional police officers in the village.
He added that the team was led by the Area Commander Kauran Namoda with a view to restoring normalcy in the area and arrest the perpetrators.
Upon their arrival, the police team found five people killed and one injured by the bandits.
The injured victim has since been taken to the hospital while the police commenced a search operation to prevent a reoccurrence of the attack.
The command said it has restored normalcy in the area and urged the people of the state to report strange movement or persons to the security agencies.
Earlier, eyewitnesses said the bandits attacked three communities in Birnin Magaji LGA of the state.
According to them, the gunmen opened fire on farmers who were harvesting sweet potatoes at one of the communities, Garin Haladu.
Contrary to the police account, the residents said the death toll from the attack was worrisome while others who were seriously injured were receiving treatment at a hospital.
Read the police statement below;
Normalcy has been restored at Gidan Halilu Village in Birnin Magaji LGA of the State, after an attack by unidentified armed bandits.
The Zamfara State Police Command wishes to Confirm that On 19/12/2018 at about 1505hrs, a group of armed bandits attacked some villagers of Gidan Halilu Village in Billashe district of Birnin Magaji LGA at their farms, On receipt of the report, Combined teams of PMF/CTU and Conventional police personnel headed by the Area Commander Kauran Namoda mobilized to the affected village to repel the attack, restore normalcy and arrest the perpetrators.
On getting to the scene, Five (5) Corpses were recovered with one other person injured.
The corpses were taken to Hospital Birnin Magaji, while the injured person was admitted for treatment.
The scene and its environs have been subjected to extensive bush combing with a view to preventing further attack.
Fear reduction and confidence-building patrols/ stop and search are ongoing.
Meanwhile, the Command uses this opportunity to appeal to members of the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious movement to the nearest police station for prompt action.
SP Mohammed Shehu,
Police Public Relations Officer,
For:- Commissioner of Police,
Zamfara State Police Command
Gusau.
