BANDITS have abducted passengers and burnt their vehicle in Shinkafi Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
This newspaper learnt that the incident occurred at Kwanar Jalab village in Zungeru Ward, Shinkafi LGA.
The notorious bandits’ kingpin, Bello Turji, had threatened to launch attacks in response to the arrest of his relatives. It is not clear if this incident is as a result of the threat.
A resident of Shinkafi, who craved anonymity, said the bandits ambushed the vehicle around 8am, on Tuesday, while conveying passengers to Shinkafi from Gusau, the state capital.
“The bandits abducted all the passengers on board the vehicle before they set the car ablaze. We are suspecting that the 10 people, including the driver, were abducted.
“This is a strange method of operation in this area. Before this incident, bandits have never set a car ablaze after abducting its passengers. Of course, they do kidnap people along the road, but they have never burnt vehicles after an operation,” the source lamented.
This newspaper recalled that a few weeks ago, terrorists developed a new strategy for operation in the state by planting explosives along roads in Dansadau axis, Maru local government.
This resulted in the killing of scores of travellers and injuring others, a situation that calls for urgent government attention.
Some residents of Shinkafi, who spoke to Daily Trust on the phone said many travellers have suspended their journeys to Shinkafi from Gusau due to uncertainty.
One of the residents, Sulaiman Shinkafi said, “My mother warned me not to travel to Shinkafi after she heard about the unfortunate incident.
“I was in Gusau when the news of the incident broke, so Hajiya called me on phone and instructed me not to go back to Shinkafi until tomorrow (today).
“I don’t know the actual number of people abducted by the bandits but we are suspecting they were 10 because most times drivers carry 10 people in their Gulf model vehicle as against the usual six.
“I am sure by tomorrow (today), the exact number of abducted persons will be known. We hope the government will take serious action to check the reoccurrence of the unfortunate incident.”