More than 30 worshippers have been abducted as armed bandits attacked a Mosque inside Tsafe town, headquarters of Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
According to reports, the incident occurred on Thursday morning when the terrorists invaded the facility while worshippers were observing their morning prayers.
The assailants, who have been terrorising the area, invaded the mosque, shooting sporadically with sophisticated weapons before whisking the victims into the forest.
“We were about to start the morning prayer today, Thursday when suddenly they (bandits) entered the mosque and directed everybody to go out and follow them,” a resident, Garba told newsmen.
The resident continued: “Everybody scampered for safety but the bandits blocked everywhere and warned us that they would kill anybody who tried to run away.
“I was able to jump out of the window and ran quickly into one of the uncompleted buildings near the mosque where I hid myself.”
According to him, the bandits left their motorcycles far away from the mosque so that the worshippers would not notice their movement.
“They came on foot, leaving their motorcycles outside the town so that they would not attract the attention of the people of the area. They later marched the worshippers to their motorcycles and took them to the forest,” he added
Garba said the number of abducted worshippers could be more than 30.
“The mosque was full to capacity when the bandits attacked the place and very few of us were able to escape.”
Also, one of the community leaders, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Community Protection Guards (CPG) have pursued the bandits in order to rescue the kidnapped worshippers.
All efforts to get comments from the spokesperson of the State Police Command, ASP Yazid Abubakar, proved abortive, as he could not be reached on telwphone after several attempts.
The Defence Headquarters Abuja, says troops have neutralized 974 terrorists, arrested 621 of them and rescued 466 kidnapped hostages within the month of February, 2024.
Meanwhile, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba who disclosed this in a statement on Thursday assured that the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) is determined to eliminate all threats hindering the safety and security of citizens.
Gen. Buba revealed that troops conducted synchronised strikes between the ground and air forces on terrorist enclaves killing significant number of them.
According to him, within the month under review troops have neutralized 974 terrorists, arrested 621 of them and rescued 466 kidnapped hostages.
“Troops conducted synchronised strikes between the ground and air forces on terrorist enclaves killing significant number of them. It is possible to say with significant certainty that these strikes have had significant impacted on the terrorist adversely.
“The focus of the armed forces is to conduct its operations in support of national security interest. Consequently, in February troops recorded significant successes in theatres across the 6 geopolitical zero new of the country.
“It is important to state that, in February 2024, troops recorded the following: neutralized 974 terrorists, arrested 621 of them and rescued 466 kidnapped hostages. Furthermore, troops recovered 1,573 assorted weapons, 23,345 assorted ammunitions and denied the oil theft of an estimated sum over #8 bn (N8,006,996,894.00) only.
“Breakdown for the month of February includes and is not limited to the following: 640 AK47 rifles, 248 locally fabricated guns, 93 pump action guns, 168 dane guns, 15,120 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 6,102 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 512 rounds of 9mm and 2,132 live cartridges.
“Others are 8,993,245 litres of stolen crude oil, 1,062,635 litres of illegally refined AGO, 18,950 litres of DPK and 45,950 litres of PMS amongst other item.
“Certainly, if these terrorist groups don’t come to the table in peace. The armed forces will continue to punish them with overwhelming military force. It would be recalled that we recently took delivery of additional air platform to further enhance our lethal capabilities.
“Contrary to the opinion of some, troops are making significant strides and recording notable successes in operations across the country. Though it might not seem so to some, the fact remains remarkable progress is being made.”
The DDMO Director appealed to citizens to be patient with the military and the Nigerian government, assuring that the menace of insurgency and other security challenges bedeviling the country will be defeated.
“Overall, I urge citizens to endure today’s pain for our tomorrow’s gain. We should take solace in knowing that, It is all in a bit to make Nigeria great again.
“We can all begin in making Nigeria great again, by taking on the Celebrate Nigeria Challenge. I therefore throw open the Celebrate Nigeria Challenge,” Gen. Buba said.
