50 COMMUNITY ELDERS KIDNAPPED DURING PEACE MEETING WITH BANDITS IN ZAMFARA STATE

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By Aishat Momoh. O.

At least 50 elders from Magamin Diddi village in Magami/Faru Ward of Maradun Local Government Area, Zamfara State, have been abducted by armed bandits during a reconciliation meeting, residents and local authorities have confirmed.

The elders were reportedly sent on Sunday to engage the bandits in a peace dialogue aimed at restoring stability and enabling farmers to return to their farmlands ahead of the planting season.

An indigene of the area, Musa Sani, told journalists that the community had resolved to pursue reconciliation with the armed group in a bid to ease tensions and secure access to farms.

“The people of the community held a meeting and decided to reconcile with the bandits to allow us to go to our farms this year,” he said.

However, the meeting reportedly took a violent turn when the armed group detained all 50 delegates brought for the dialogue.

Confirming the incident on Monday, the Chairman of Maradun Local Government Area, Bello Dosara, said the community did not inform local authorities before embarking on the reconciliation effort.

He reiterated that both the state and local governments had consistently opposed negotiations with armed groups.

“We are against reconciliation with bandits, and we have repeatedly warned our people to desist from such dangerous arrangements,” he said, adding that Governor Dauda Lawal’s administration does not support such engagements.

Dosara further explained that the armed group had recently imposed restrictions on movement in the area following clashes with security forces, raising tensions in the community.

He questioned the decision by residents to engage directly with the group without official security backing.

Meanwhile, he confirmed that 11 of the abducted elders had been released, while 39 others remained in captivity as of the time of filing this report.

Efforts are reportedly ongoing to secure their release.