THE Sarkin Zamfara, Zurmi, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku Muhammad has revealed the armed bandits that stormed his emirate and killed 44 people last Wednesday were about 200 on motorcycles.
This was even as he said the emirate mobilised 500 vigilantes to counter them but unfortunately they were overpowered.
Muhammad made this known in Zurmi while receiving the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris in his palace on Saturday.
He said the hoodlums, “came on 200 motorcycles with three persons on each bike. Each of them was well-armed.
“We stationed 500 vigilante members who stood their ground and gallantly fought the bandits. Unfortunately, these same bandits turned their anger.
“These terrorists are known to us. Their major hide-out is in a village called Kagara, very close to Bafarawa in Sokoto State, and a few kilometres from Shinkafi in Zamfara State.
“But despite several appeals to security agencies to storm the area, our appeals have failed.”
He also alleged that “I need to state here that majority of weapons used by bad people in this country were brought in from this area.
Speaking further the royal father alleged that, “I had reason to personally inform Zamfara State Director of SSS sometimes back of a large cache of weapons being brought into the country but no concrete action was taken until the containers were moved away
The IGP, Ibrahim Idris while condoling the people of the state and the emirate assured the emir that a special police team that will tackle the bandits would be deployed to the area.
He said, “We will deploy enough men to checkmate the hoodlums and chased them out of the State.”
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