Bandits have killed the Director of Planning in Talata Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara State, Jamilu Sani, and the councillor representing Jangebe Ward in an attack along the Jangebe to Talata Mafara road.
The victims were reportedly kidnapped on May 18, 2026, while they were travelling from Jangebe to the Talata Mafara Local Government headquarters.
Reports said the attackers attacked the victims when they were said to have been travelling with the Area Revenue Officer for Pilgrims Affairs in the local government area to make preparations for the pilgrimage exercise.
It was gathered that the Chairman Talata Mafara Local Government Area, Hon. Yahaya Yari, confirmed the incident, describing it as tragic and unfortunate.
Yari said the council made several efforts to secure the release of the abducted officials but the bandits refused to negotiate for ransom.
He said the attackers threatened to kill anyone abducted from Jangebe community.
Bandits told us that whoever they kidnapped from Jangebe community would be killed. “They made it clear that they were not interested in collecting ransom,” Daily Trust quoted Yari as saying.
The council chairman said the development had thrown the local government area into mourning especially among residents of Jangebe and staff of the council that knew the victims.
Five Persons Ambushed On Road
A resident of Jangebe and close associate of the victims who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the five people were in the vehicle of the Area Revenue Officer, Sama’ila Ladan when ambushed.
The source said the victims were heading to Talata Mafara when the bandits attacked them at a notorious danger point on the road.
“They were waylaid by the bandits at a notorious flashpoint on their way to Mafara. The source said, “The village head was killed on the spot after he resisted being taken away.”
The source said the assailants also shot the Area Revenue Officer on the hand.
“They also shot the Area Revenue Officer in the hand and thought him dead apparently. The source said the attackers also abducted the Director of Planning, Jamilu Sani, while two occupants of the vehicle escaped into nearby bushes.”
The source expressed worry over the deteriorating security situation in Jangebe and neighbouring communities, saying residents now live in fear because of repeated attacks on roads and villages.
He said travelling outside Jangebe had become dangerous especially for residents moving towards Talata Mafara and other parts of the state.
The security situation in our area is continuing to deteriorate. Once you have gone about three kilometres out of Jangebe you are pretty much on your own.
“Our only relatively safe route is the Mayanchi-Anka-Gummi road, but even that has now become a dangerous corridor,” he bemoaned.
The resident called on security agencies and the Zamfara State Government to intensify patrols and restore confidence among communities ravaged by banditry.
DSP Yazid Abubakar, the spokesperson for the Zamfara State Police Command, also confirmed the incident.
The latest attack comes amid rising concerns over insecurity in parts of Zamfara State, where bandits have continued to attack communities, abduct residents and disrupt movement along major roads.
Residents in the area have called for urgent security intervention to prevent further attacks and to protect travellers using the Jangebe to Talata Mafara route.
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