Guard killed, nephew abducted as gunmen break into Bafarawa’s residence

Some gunmen attacked the residence of Attahiru Bafarawa, former governor of Sokoto, killing his security guard, Abdullahi Jijji.

Sulaiman Shinkafi, director-general of the Bafarawa Foundation, who confirmed the attack, said the bandits also abducted one Abdulrasheed Sa’idu, a 16-year-old boy said to be the ex-governor’s nephew.

According to Shinkafi, the attack, first of its kind in Bafarawa village, occurred around 9pm on Friday.

He said the attackers arrived the village in motorcycles, wielding AK47s. He added that they threatened to wipe out two villages.

“They threatened to wipe out Bafarawa and Kamarawa villages in the Isa local government area of the state,” Shinkafi said in a statement.

“This is the first time such an attack is happening in Bafarawa town, but the people of Kamarawa, a nearby village, have been experiencing killing, kidnapping and burning of their property.”

The attack happened a day after Bafarawa launched a foundation and announced that it was organising a security summit alongside other northern leaders to proffer solutions to the banditry and kidnapping in the region.

Speaking during the launch, Bafarawa accused some governors of fueling insecurity across the region in a bit to inflate their security votes.

Ibrahim Magu, acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had earlier made the same accusation.