11 killed as bandits attack Zamfara community

Eleven persons have been confirmed dead following a bandit attack on Ware community in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

The assault reportedly occurred on Thursday when armed men stormed the village and opened fire on residents, leaving multiple casualties.

A member of the Zamfara State House of Assembly representing Tsafe West Constituency, Amiru Ahmad Keta, confirmed the development on Saturday. He disclosed that eleven bodies had so far been recovered and conveyed to Keta village for burial.

According to the lawmaker, efforts to retrieve additional corpses were halted after the attackers returned and chased away residents attempting to evacuate the dead, making it difficult to determine the full extent of casualties. He added that the recovered bodies were transported in wheelbarrows to Keta for burial.

“On Thursday, the bandits entered Ware village and killed unspecified numbers of people; so far, eleven dead bodies have been conveyed to Keta village. I have the short video; they were taken in wheelbarrows to Keta for burial,” he said.

“Right now, the people evacuating the dead bodies have stopped because the bandits chased them away. We don’t know the exact number of people killed. No single security agency has been able to access Ware village since Thursday,” Keta added.

The lawmaker further disclosed that a Nigerian Army Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) was destroyed after running into an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) along the Keta-Danjibga road in Tsafe Local Government Area. Troops were reportedly escorting civilian vehicles in the high-risk corridor when the explosion occurred.

Following the blast, the soldiers were said to have withdrawn from the scene, after which the attackers allegedly returned and set the damaged vehicle ablaze.

Zamfara remains one of the North-Western states grappling with persistent banditry, often linked to violent struggles over resources. Other states in the region, including Kebbi, Kaduna, Sokoto and Katsina, have also recorded repeated attacks.

On February 18, gunmen reportedly killed dozens of people and destroyed seven villages in raids in Kebbi State. According to the state police command spokesman, Bashir Usman, members of the Lakurawa group attacked villages in the Bui district of the Arewa region, leading to significant casualties and the rustling of cattle. A resident of Kanzo village claimed that at least 35 people were killed during the attack.

The renewed violence has heightened calls for stronger security intervention to stem the tide of banditry and restore safety across Nigeria’s North-West.