Hassan Attahiru, Emir of Bungudu in Zamfara State, has said 30 persons were kidnapped from his territory by bandits, who attacked the town on Saturday.
Attahiru made the claim on Wednesday in response to a statement made by the Nigerian Air Force with respect to his initial comments regarding the attack.
The Emir had in an interview with a newspaper on Tuesday mentioned that 15 persons were killed during the attack and that NAF personnel ignored distress calls placed to them during the attack.
The NAF, however, dismissed the Emir’s claims, describing it as mischievous.
But Attahiru reiterated his position in a statement on Wednesday, adding that the bandits kidnapped 30 persons from his territory in addition to the 15 persons that were purportedly killed.
The statement read: “It reached a situation that my people were afraid for my life, asking me not to visit certain places, for me not to be kidnapped.
“Apart from the 15 people killed when the bandits invaded Makwa village, 30 others were kidnapped and whisked away to unknown destinations by the bandits.
“The kidnapped victims upon payment of ransom, which the state government frowned upon, are usually freed.”
The Emir also stated that contrary to claims by security operatives that the personnel of Operation Sharan Daji and Habun Kunama III rescued some of the kidnapped victims in Bungudu, those who returned were actually escapees from the bandits.
“Those they claimed they rescued are escapees from the kidnappers. The troops saw the escapees returning home. They never engaged the bandits during the attack to rescue the kidnapped victims.
“There are places that the bandits have established camps in the last four years and they are still there, they have not moved an inch.
“The security agencies have this information. The information given to them years ago is still very valid but they don’t make use of it.
“If their problem is dearth of personnel, let them admit and collectively, we can sit down to address it. Unfortunately, there is a lack of synergy between the security agencies and the people who are more familiar with the terrain,” the statement read.
Attahiru warned that if normalcy was not restored especially in areas facing insecurity, Zamfara, an agrarian state, might experience food shortage.
