Terrorists kill Zamfara community protection agents, others

Residents said the attack would have been worse without the CPG standing up against the terrorists.

Bandits have killed four persons, including two operatives of the Zamfara State Community Protection Guards (CPG), in the Kyara community in the Maradun area of Zamfara State on Thursday evening.

Residents and local authorities told PREMIUM TIMES over the phone that the terrorists had a fierce gunfight with the CPG operatives.

The Zamfara State Community Protection Guards were formed by Governor Dauda Lawal in 2024 to work with conventional security agencies in fighting terrorism and other forms of criminality in the northwestern state.

The operatives were posted to all 14 areas in the state.

The councillor representing Faru ward in Maradun area, Bello Hussaini, said the terrorists invaded the community on several motorcycles, shooting sporadically.

‘When I received information on the attack, I quickly reached out to the CPG officials situated inside the Faru community and asked them to mobilise and repel the attack. They tried their best and repelled the attack, but two of them paid the supreme price,’ he said, adding that the terrorists had earlier killed two other residents before the CPG operatives arrived.

Mr Hussaini lamented that the security situation in the area has deteriorated in the last few months.

‘What’s happening is very disheartening. Our communities are vulnerable, and our roads have become death traps. Between Gora and Faru up to Kaya, the road is now a death trap. Using it is suicidal. There’s no day that goes by without an attack on that road,” he said.

Maradun is one of the seven LGAs in western Zamfara State. The zone is witnessing an upsurge in terrorists’ activities, as reported by PREMIUM TIMES last week.

When contacted by PREMIUM TIMES, the Community Protection Guards spokesperson, Abubakar Gumi, said those killed were not members of the CPG but could be vigilantes or hunters.

“We checked, but none of our officials was found to have been killed. So, it’s very possible those killed were hunters or members of a vigilante group in the area,” he said.

The state police spokesperson, Yazid Abubakar, didn’t respond to SMS or WhatsApp messages sent to him about the attack.