Bandits have killed 12 members of the same family after setting their residence ablaze during an attack on Gidan Taba village in Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
Seven other residents were reportedly abducted during the Saturday night attack in Dosara Birnin Kaya Ward, despite attempts by community members to alert security agencies.
The incident occurred barely a week after armed bandits ambushed security personnel at Gidan Kano along the Gusau-Sokoto highway in the same local government area, killing five police officers.
A resident, who spoke to Daily Trust on condition of anonymity, said the attackers invaded the residence of one Mallam Muhammadu Sani at about 10pm.
According to him, 13 members of the family had locked themselves inside a room in an attempt to escape abduction.
Those trapped included Sani, his two wives and six children, as well as the wife of his younger brother and their three children.
The resident said the attackers repeatedly ordered the occupants to open the door but, after they refused, set the room on fire.
Only the wife of Sani’s younger brother reportedly escaped, while the remaining 12 occupants died from the intense heat and fire.
He said the community immediately contacted the Maradun Local Government Chairman, Sanusi Ahmed Dosara, who made efforts to reach security formations for assistance.
However, the security agencies reportedly failed to arrive before the tragedy occurred.
“We informed the local government chairman, Dosara, and he tried all he could to reach the security personnel. He told us he had spoken with different security formations, but nobody came to our rescue,” the resident said.
He expressed disappointment that security personnel failed to respond to their distress calls, despite the community’s proximity to military and police formations in Maradun.
“Imagine, the distance between our village and Dosara is just about half a kilometre, while from Dosara to Maradun is about one kilometre. In total, it is just about one and a half kilometres between our village and the local government headquarters.
“There is a military base in Maradun, a mobile police base and a police headquarters, yet none of them came to our aid until the bandits burnt the 12 people alive,” he added.
Another resident confirmed that seven people were abducted during the attack and remained in the custody of the bandits as of the time of the interview.
He called on security agencies to strengthen their presence in the area and take urgent measures to prevent further attacks.
The resident also dismissed reports suggesting that police personnel had been deployed to the community, insisting that officers only visited to obtain information about the incident before leaving.
“The police only came to make inquiries, just the way you are doing now as a journalist. They asked what happened and what transpired, and we gave them the information. After that, they all left.
“As I am speaking to you, there are no police personnel in our village,” he said.
The Maradun Local Government Chairman, Sanusi Ahmed Dosara, described the incident as heartbreaking.
Dosara, who led the funeral prayers for the deceased at Gidan Taba on Sunday, said the victims included a father, his wives and young children.
“What occurred in Gidan Taba village is heartbreaking and disheartening. A father, his wives and small children, 12 of them, were all killed by fire,” he said.
He explained that the victims died from the intense heat after the attackers set their room ablaze.
“The bandits set the room ablaze. They were not burnt because the fire engulfed the roofing, but the horrible heat resulted in their death,” he added.
The chairman also confirmed that the attackers abducted some residents but said local vigilantes engaged them in a gun battle and secured the release of some captives.
He, however, said the exact number of abducted persons was initially difficult to establish because of the tension in the community.
According to him, the attackers adopted diversionary tactics by shooting sporadically in different directions to confuse security personnel and conceal their actual positions.
The Zamfara State Police Command confirmed the attack but gave the death toll as 11.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Yazid Abubakar, told Daily Trust that the command received a report from the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the local government.
He described the head of the family as an active member of the community’s vigilante group who had contributed to efforts to defend the village against bandit attacks.
“The incident happened, and the people were trapped in the room by the bandits, based on the report we received from the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the local government.
“The head of the family is one of the strongest vigilantes who was blocking bandits from attacking the community,” Abubakar said.
He added that the police had deployed a reinforcement team to ensure the safety of residents.
Over 100 Killed in Six Months
The Gidan Taba attack is the latest in a series of violent incidents recorded in Maradun Local Government Area and other parts of Zamfara State.
Last week, bandits ambushed security personnel at Gidan Kano along the Gusau-Sokoto highway.
The personnel were travelling in an 18-seater vehicle belonging to the Zamfara State Transport Authority to provide security during the APC Zamfara North senatorial rerun primary. Five police officers were killed in the ambush.
In a related incident around Tungan Tama, telecommunications workers were reportedly ambushed, leaving one person dead and others injured.
Bandit attacks across Zamfara State have claimed dozens of lives, injured many others and displaced residents. Travellers, farmers, traditional rulers and religious leaders have also been abducted in the last six months.
Incidents compiled from media reports and humanitarian assessments between May 1 and November 7, 2026, affected communities in Gusau, Anka, Maru, Talata Mafara, Tsafe, Maradun, Gummi, Bungudu, Bakura, Bukkuyum and other parts of the state.
On May 1, one resident was reportedly killed, another injured and nine people abducted when bandits attacked Lilo village in Gusau Local Government Area.
The police later announced that their tactical team had killed a suspected bandit kingpin, Alhaji Lawali Dandumbulu, and four other gang members.
On May 7, six passengers were killed and six others injured when a commercial vehicle reportedly hit an improvised explosive device along Bagega-Anka Road in Anka Local Government Area.
Three days later, at least 10 people were killed when bandits attacked a convoy of travellers being escorted by security personnel along Magami-Dansadau Road in Maru Local Government Area.
The attack, which occurred near Dogon Santsi, also left several people injured, while some travellers were reportedly abducted. Security personnel and members of the Civilian Joint Task Force were among those killed.
On May 14, one resident was killed and three others injured when armed men attacked Moda village in Anka Local Government Area, reportedly in an attempt to rustle cattle.
The police said their personnel engaged the attackers and recovered the livestock.
Another attack occurred on May 18 along Jangebe-Talata Mafara Road, where three local government officials travelling for Hajj arrangements were abducted.
The victims included a councillor, a director of planning and an assistant revenue officer.
The councillor and the director were later killed after their abductors reportedly rejected ransom demands. The fate of the third victim was not immediately clear.
In June, about 50 elders from the Magamin Diddi community in Magami/Faru Ward reportedly embarked on a reconciliation mission to meet a notorious bandit leader identified as Jammo.
The elders were seeking an end to hostilities and access to their farmlands ahead of the rainy-season farming activities.
However, the peace initiative ended in a mass abduction after the bandit leader allegedly arrived at the meeting venue with armed members of his gang.
About 39 members of the delegation were abducted on June 7, while 11 others were released and asked to return to their community.
Five days later, at least 17 farmers were killed and 13 injured in an attack on Goran Namaye community in Maradun Local Government Area.
On June 15, three people were killed and two others injured when bandits attacked Gamo Gidan Bita in Gummi Local Government Area.
An assessment by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) recorded that 484 people from 101 households, including 271 children, were displaced and fled to Ubandawaki.
A subsequent IOM assessment covering attacks on Gamo, Birnin Magaji, Falale and Birnin Tudu communities in Gummi Local Government Area reported that 8,796 people from 1,677 households had been displaced by June 18.
The assessment did not specify the number of people killed in those incidents.
The violence escalated in July when at least 24 farmers were killed and several others injured in an attack on Sauna district in Talata Mafara Local Government Area on July 21.
Four days later, three security personnel and a civilian were reportedly killed during an attack in Bungudu town.
The chairman of Bungudu Local Government Area, Nura Abdullahi, and members of his family were also abducted, although five of his family members were later rescued.
In August, attacks on several communities in Gummi Local Government Area, including Galko, Baruda, Tudun Boshi, Gidan Illo, Gulle, Fass, Gusura and Yar Gusau, were documented in an IOM assessment.
The report recorded 14 deaths, 88 injuries and the displacement of 14,727 people from 2,458 households.
On August 25, at least eight travellers were killed and eight others abducted when armed men blocked the Gusau-Funtua Highway around Unguwar Chida in Tsafe Local Government Area.
The attackers reportedly targeted two vehicles, including a Sokoto State Transport Authority bus. Security forces later killed 17 suspected bandits during an operation.
On September 12, at least six Islamic clerics were abducted along the Dakko-Damri feeder road in Bakura Local Government Area while travelling towards Talata Mafara.
On October 5, 14 soldiers and mobile police officers were reportedly killed when bandits attacked a military base in Bindin Ward, Dansadau Emirate, Maru Local Government Area.
The attackers were also reported to have targeted mining sites and looted an armoury. Several miners were said to have been killed in subsequent attacks, although their number was not established.
On October 10, at least 20 people were killed and 19 others wounded when bandits ambushed a convoy of traders travelling under military escort along the Gwashi-Nasarawa market route in Bukkuyum Local Government Area.
The dead included four soldiers, three policemen, an officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and 12 civilians.
On October 31, security forces reportedly repelled another attack, with the police later recovering the bodies of more than 30 suspected bandits.
On November 2, security personnel travelling by bus to provide security for the APC senatorial rerun primary were ambushed along the Gidan Kano-Gidan Giye axis, around Maradun and Tsafe Local Government Areas.
Five police officers were killed, although other media reports put the casualty figure at eight.
Bandits Targeting Communities Resisting Attacks – Adamu
A security expert, Dr Kabiru Adamu, has described the killing of the 12 family members as a targeted reprisal against a vigilante who stood up to bandits.
Speaking to Daily Trust, the Chairman of Beacon Security Consulting said the attack demonstrated how armed groups were increasingly targeting individuals and communities resisting their activities.
“What happened in Gidan Taba was a targeted retaliation against a vigilante who stood up to bandits, and it ended with 12 members of his family killed,” he said.
He warned that such attacks were intended to discourage community resistance and weaken local defence structures.
“It shows us that gunmen are now punishing community resistance. When you kill a man for defending his village, you are telling every other village not to resist. That is how community defence collapses,” he said.
Adamu said the incident also reflected increasingly organised tactics by armed groups operating across the North-West, particularly along what he described as the Katsina-Zamfara-Sokoto-Kebbi corridor.
‘Electioneering Given Priority Over Insecurity’
The security analyst also expressed concern that political activities ahead of the 2027 general elections appeared to be taking precedence over the worsening security situation.
“And yet, while this is happening, our politicians have continued their politicking unperturbed — defections, alignments and 2027 declarations — as if we are in normal times. We are not.
“Security cannot be a campaign slogan. You cannot seek to lead a people whose safety you are not even prioritising,” he said.
He argued that addressing insecurity required political will, stronger public protection and accountability at both federal and state levels.
“The way out is clear, but it requires political will. We must enhance public protection and hold both federal and state-level protectors to account while enhancing their protection,” Adamu said.
He called for a shift from responding to attacks after they occurred to a multilayered security approach built around intelligence-led prevention, sustained security presence in cleared communities, disruption of criminal financing and rebuilding public trust.
Adamu described the Gidan Taba killings as a tragedy that should prompt a fundamental change in the country’s response to insecurity, warning that expressions of sympathy alone would not be sufficient.
“If we do not act decisively and differently, this pattern will repeat, and it will continue to be innocent families who pay the price,” he added.
Analyst Demands Investigation Into Security Response
Another security analyst, Dr Yahuza Getso, questioned the response of security agencies to the killing of the family members, calling for an investigation into how the attackers operated and escaped without being challenged.
“We have a lot of unanswered questions that we are supposed to ask ourselves. What is the distance between Gidan Taba and the local government headquarters? Is there an accessible road linking the community? Was there any distress call, and if there was, what action did the security agencies take?” he asked.
Getso also called for investigations into alleged support networks sustaining banditry, including informants who provide armed groups with food, shelter and other supplies.
“Who is providing them with ammunition, food, shelter and other necessities? There is collaboration between those carrying arms and some community members who serve as informants,” he said.
