Police authorities in Zamfara have confirmed the attack on Tsafe town, the headquarters of Tsafe Local Government Area of the state.
The spokesperson for the command, Muhammed Shehu, told Channels Television on Monday that the bandits invaded the Tsafe from the eastern part of the town and started shooting sporadically.
He added that the assailants killed three persons, including the son of Mamman Tsafe, the Commissioner for Security and Home Affairs in Zamfara and a retired Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG).
“They entered through the eastern part of the town, and you know the commissioner’s house is close to the end of the town,” said Shehu. “The bandits came from the bush while people were observing prayer and started shooting sporadically.
“When the security operatives heard the gunshots, they went there to engage the bandits, and later it was discovered that three persons who were already outside when the bandits were shooting lost their lives, including the son of the commissioner.”
According to the command’s spokesman, the Commissioner of Police in Zamfara, Ayuba Elkanah, has visited the town to condole with the retired DIG and for an on-the-spot assessment.
Channels Television had reported that the bandits invaded Tsafe at about 8:30 pm on Sunday and began to fire sporadic gunshots to cause panic among residents.
Sources had said the attack came as a reprisal following the killing of a man on Saturday by a local vigilante group known as ‘Yan Sa Kai” in Tsafe.
“We got the information that the bandits were gathering to attack Tsafe; they even invited some other groups in order to attack the town,” a resident of Tsafe town said.
“My house is very close to the DIG’s house. While they were shooting at his house, a bullet dropped on my rooftop. So, the bandits attacked his (the commissioner’s) house, killed one of his sons and one boy – a relative of the chairman of the Local Government Service Commission (in Zamfara).”
The incident followed the killing of at least 13 persons by armed bandits in attacks on different communities in Anka Local Government Area of Zamfara.
The affected communities were Kadaddaba, Rafin Gero, and Babban Baye. While the police said 13 persons were killed in the attacks on Thursday last week, locals insisted that 15 people lost their lives.
