Police Arrest 117 Suspects Over Zamfara Killings

The Zamfara State Police says it has arrested about 117 persons in connection with the recent killings in Gusau, Shinkafi Local Government Areas and other parts of the state.

The spokesperson of the command, Mohammed Shehu, said this in a statement on Friday.

According to him, the suspects were arrested during a raid carried out by the IGP Special Tactical Squad in conjunction with the Command Tactical team on Thursday, which lasted for several hours.

He also noted that the Command Tactical team arrested 72 suspected bandits who specialize in using unregistered motorcycles to ferry kidnapped victims to their hideouts, while 73 unregistered motorcycles were recovered from them.

The command, therefore, warned all criminals at large to repent and surrender their arms to the Police or face dire consequences when they are caught.

It also enjoined members of the public to sustain their cooperation by providing timely/useful information to the police on criminal activities.

This comes days after bandits stormed the villages on motorbikes, shooting sporadically at residents and carting away their livestock.

One of the villagers said 30 people were killed across the villages during the attacks, although the police authorities insisted that only three people died.

However, the repeated attacks on communities have left residents in perpetual fear and anxiety.

They have, therefore, called on the Federal Government to be more proactive in securing their lives and property, and also stop the repeated killings stemming from herdsmen-farmers clashes.