Zamfara Attack Leaves 11 Dead as Security Forces Search for 13 Abducted Residents

Security forces have been deployed to Gidan Taba, a village in Zamfara State’s Maradun area, after gunmen killed a local security volunteer and 10 members of his family and abducted 13 other people in a weekend attack.

Police confirmed the killings on Monday, November 9, and said the gunmen set the family’s home ablaze. Zamfara police spokesperson Yazid Abubakar said the volunteer belonged to a government-backed vigilante group and had repeatedly helped security forces repel armed gangs that tried to enter the community. Police believe that work made him a target.

Communities across northwestern Nigeria have relied on local volunteers to help defend villages and towns against armed gangs. The volunteers work alongside security forces that are also responding to other threats across the region. In Gidan Taba, police say the attackers went after a man who helped protect the village and killed 10 of his relatives as well.

Armed gangs have raided communities across the northwest for years, killing residents, looting homes and taking people captive for ransom. In Gidan Taba, the immediate priority is finding the 13 people taken during the raid. Police say the operation to secure their release is underway.