Gunmen, suspected to be bandits, have killed Hon. Nasiru Sani Kaura, a Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal, in a brazen dawn raid on Kaura Namoda town in the North West state.
Reports indicated that the top government official was gunned down in a hail of bullets when heavily armed bandits tore through the Low-Cost area of the town in the early hours of Sunday.
According to terrified residents, the assailants struck with ruthless precision just as Muslim worshippers gathered for the early morning Subh (Fajr) prayers, unleashing sporadic gunfire that shattered the dawn quiet and sent worshippers and locals fleeing for their lives.A competent source, who described Nasiru as a grassroots politician and community leader, said he was killed during the attack and his death has triggered grief in Kaura Namoda and other parts of the state.
The sources many residents of the area and sympathisers said his death is as a great loss to the community, even as the family subsequently observed the funeral prayer in accordance with Islamic rites.
For families in Kaura Namoda and across Zamfara North, the killing is a grim reminder that nowhere feels safe, as communities continue to live under the constant threat of bandit attacks, abductions, and violence.
Residents, who are exhausted by the bloodshed, are pleading with the state government and security operatives to fortify their neighborhoods before more lives and property are lost in the hands of these criminal elements.
Meanwhile, the Zamfara State Police Command, has in another development said it had rescued 19 kidnapped victims, comprising women and children, after 22 days in bandits’ captivity.
According to Police reports, the victims were abducted from Tungar Haki Village, through Wanke, in Gusau Local Government Area, and taken to a bandits’ hideout around Kungurmi Village.
The police said the victims were rescued on Saturday, November 14, around 10am in a joint operation involving operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, Police officers attached to Government House, operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and local hunters.
A statement by the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Yazid Abubakar, said the operation followed credible intelligence on the whereabouts of the victims, adding that all 19 victims were found unharmed and had since been reunited with their families.
The statement quoted the Commissioner of Police, Ahmad Muhammad Bello, as praising the joint security team for their courage, professionalism and collaboration, which led to the successful rescue while also reaffirming the command’s commitment to combating kidnapping and other criminal activities.
Calling for stronger community partnership, CP Bello appealed to residents to feed security agencies with prompt and reliable information, stressing that actionable intelligence from the public remains the backbone of the Force’s efforts to nip criminal activities in the bud.
Worried locals say the twin attacks reflect the worsening insecurity across Zamfara State, especially in the state’s northern communities, where relentless banditry continues to threaten lives and paralyze daily life of residents.
