THIRTY-THREE kidnapped victims of Banga village in Kaura Namoda Local Government Area of Zamfara State were allegedly forced by their abductors to kill one another, after their relations had paid ransoms on them.
The ICIR gathered on Tuesday, July 29, that the victims were among the 50 people, mostly women and children, abducted in February by a suspected notorious bandit, Bello Dansadiya, and his team during raids on Kaura Namoda town and Banga village in the Kaura Namoda LGA.
A credible source confirmed to The ICIR that two people were killed during the raid, and three pregnant women were among those whisked away from the communities.
“At the camp, three pregnant women delivered and all the babies died there. After payment of ransom in two installments, the victims were asked to slaughter themselves, in which 29 males and four females were slaughtered making 33.
“It means 33 plus the three babies, making 36. If added with the two killed at the village during the abduction, that makes 38,” the source said.
The ICIR reports that despite allegedly receiving N50 million ransom, paid in installments, the bandit leader refused to release all the abductees, ignoring repeated pleas from their relatives.
The bandits released only 18 of the victims on Saturday, July 26, while the remaining were held as Dansadiya demanded additional ransom.
Chairman of Kaura Namoda Local Government Area, Mannir Mu’azu Haidara, confirmed to journalists that the 18 rescued victims sustained varying degrees of injuries from torture and were receiving medical treatment at the Kaura Namoda General Hospital.
The ICIR reported on Sunday, July 27, that a resident of Banga village, Sani Suleiman, appealed to the state government for intervention, claiming that bandits slaughtered 35 of the people they abducted after their families had paid N35 million ransom on them.
Suleiman said the abductors kidnapped 53 people from the village and were demanding a ransom of one million naira for each victim.
Suleiman said that the victims had been in captivity for several months, but only 18 of them, who were able to pay the ransom, were released.
Ahmed Danmanga, the Special Adviser on Security Matters to the state Governor Dauda Lawal, also confirmed the incident but said he could not verify the exact number of residents killed.
The ICIR reports that Zamfara State has faced security challenges over the years, ranging from insurgent attacks to banditry.
Many communities across the state’s 14 LGAs have been displaced, with residents of Maru, Anka, Shinkafi, Maradun, Zurmi, Gusau, and Bungudu LGAs being the worst hit.
A member of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, Aminu Ibrahim, representing Kaura Namoda State Constituency, was arrested last year over alleged involvement in banditry and kidnapping in the state.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.