Photo: Zamfara State (file photo) — Ikani / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
More than 40 people have been reported killed in a gun battle between armed bandits and local vigilantes at Zoma community in Bukkuyum Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
Two independent reports have now been published, but their casualty figures conflict, and the police have confirmed neither toll.
- BBC Hausa, reported by Vanguard, puts the dead at at least 25 bandits and 16 vigilantes
- AFP, citing residents, earlier reported 44 bandits and 9 vigilantes killed — more than 50 in total
- Both accounts name bandit commander Jijji among the dead; the police have issued no statement
What the two reports say about the Zoma clash
According to a BBC Hausa Service report monitored by Vanguard's correspondent, bandits led by the commander Jijji stormed Zoma on Wednesday morning, and the fighting lasted from about 8:30am until noon.
A resident told the service the armed men arrived on several motorcycles, and that those killed were buried on Wednesday.
Residents who spoke to AFP gave a different account: vigilantes ambushed bandits passing through Zoma on Thursday after the gang abducted several people from neighbouring Gummi district.
A village chief told AFP the vigilantes killed 44 bandits and lost nine of their own men.
Why the Zamfara death toll is still unconfirmed
Both tolls rest on residents' accounts rather than any official count. Vanguard reported that the police had yet to issue an official statement on the clash or the casualty figures.
A Zamfara police spokesman earlier told AFP the force had yet to receive details of the clashes.
Residents of the wider Dansadau area told Vanguard that bandits there have been abducting travellers and setting up roadblocks on local roads.
What happens next
NewsTweetNaija will update this story in place when the Zamfara State Police Command or the state government confirms the incident and the toll.
Read also: https://newstweetnaija.com/post/tinubu-orders-security-agencies-to-confront-thuggery-with-full-force">Tinubu Orders Security Agencies to Confront Thuggery With Full Force
Sources: Vanguard (BBC Hausa Service report, by Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo); AFP, reported by News Central TV and Vanguard. Follow @newstweetnaija for more.
