A former councillor of Sabon Gida Ward in Zamfara state, Hon. Farouq Hassan has been killed by gunmen suspected to be bandits few minutes after he returned to his home on Wednesday night.
It was gathered that the bandits stormed his house with sophisticated weapons in two vehicles, which they had used to trail the 38-year-old politician.
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According to a family source, the gunmen asked Hassan to turn his back before he was shot twice in the head. None of his family members or neighbours was abducted in the attack.
The Zamfara State Police Command was yet to respond to the incident at the time of writing this report as the Police Public Relations Officer(PPRO), SP Mohammed Shehu, was not responding to phone calls.
The incident happened less than 24 hours after gunmen invaded the house of another former councillor, Babangida Damba, abducting his wife and seven-month-old son.
According to Damba, the gunmen invaded his residence in the Damba area of Gusau town around 12.20 am on Tuesday, wielding AK-47 rifles.
He added that he called the police immediately after the attack started but they didn’t respond until around 3 am when the gunmen had left with his wife and son.
Deadly attacks have raged across Zamfara state where bandits have thrived.
Farming and herding communities in the state have long been terrorised by gangs who raid villages, stealing cattle and kidnap residents for ransom.
In 2019, the state government entered a peace agreement with the gunmen.
About 15 brand new Hilux vehicles and cash gifts were also given to leaders of different ‘repentant’ gangs of bandits by the governor in 2020.
But despite all these, communities in the state are still being attacked and residents kidnapped and/or killed.