Bandits Invade Defence Minister’s Community, Kill 2, Abduct Many

In the early hours of Friday, bandits invaded Maradun town, the country home of Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, killing two people and abducting about 30 others.

Maradun is the headquarters of the Maradun local government area of Zamfara State.

According to reports, the bandits attacked the town at about 2:00 am, and it lasted for about two hours, shooting sporadically and ransacking residents’ houses.

The number of abducted persons was yet to be ascertained, but the figure was put at around 30, including women, children, and adults, given the number of homes affected.

A traditional ruler, whose house was ransacked by the bandits, expressed dismay over the high level of insecurity in the town.

“It was to my hearing the bandits burgled my palour’s door, coming towards my inner room, I managed to hide while my wives and children followed another passage and ran away to hide somewhere,” he narrated.

The traditional ruler, who doesn’t want his name in print, expressed concern over the rampant attacks on the town, saying even last Friday, a similar attack was carried out on the town, where cattle and sheep were rustled by the bandits.

Also, a resident of the town, Hassan Ibrahim, lamented that the attack was terrible as bandits were stationed at different locations with sophisticated weapons.

“When I heard their movement close to my door, I crossed over to a nearby wall and ran for my dear life and luckily escaped but overheard them saying that we have all hidden,” he added.

He stressed the need for the Minister of State for Defence, who is the immediate-past governor of Zamfara State, to intervene in the security situation of his country home to avert further attacks.