Police Confirm 11 Killed and 13 Abducted in Zamfara Village Attack
ZAMFARA — Police have confirmed that armed attackers killed a local security volunteer and ten members of his family in Gidan Taba, Maradun Local Government Area, during a weekend assault in north-western Nigeria.
Zamfara police spokesperson Yazid Abubakar told Reuters that the attackers also abducted 13 people, burned the victims’ bodies and set the family home on fire.
According to the police account, the volunteer belonged to a government-backed vigilante group and had repeatedly assisted security forces in resisting incursions by criminal gangs. Abubakar said the attackers regarded him as an obstacle to their activities.
Security deployment and hostages
Police said security personnel had been deployed to the area and were working to secure the release of those abducted. No arrests had been announced at the time of publication, and authorities had not disclosed a confirmed motive beyond the police assessment that the volunteer was targeted because of his local security role.
MBTV previously withheld this story because early reports carried conflicting casualty figures. The later police statement, reported by Reuters on 9 November, provides a named location, an official spokesperson and a specific breakdown: the volunteer, ten relatives and thirteen abducted residents.
North-western states have relied partly on community protection groups as security forces confront armed gangs operating across large rural areas. Those arrangements can also expose volunteers and their families to retaliation.
The names of the victims and abducted residents had not been officially released when this article was prepared. MBTV will update the report if police provide verified information about rescues, arrests or the identities of those affected.
Sources: Reuters report citing Zamfara Police; syndicated Reuters report with the police statement.
Featured image: illustrative rural-road photograph by Sourajit Hazra via Unsplash. It does not show Gidan Taba or the attack.
