Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
Three people have been hospitalised following an attack by suspected bandits on Zogirma town in Bunza Local Government Area of Kebbi State.
They allegedly shot the council chairman’s wife, a police officer and a member of vigilance group, who confronted them, even as they whisked away the council chairman’s wife.
Daily Sun gathered that the suspected bandits, who raided the community on Sunday evening, attempted to kidnap the council chairman’s wife, but when the police officer and the vigilance operative resisted them, they shot them and fled.
It was gathered that the three victims are presently in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Federal Medical Center (FMC), Birnin Kebbi, where they are being treated.
Speaking with newsmen yesterday, a resident of the area, Aliyu Usman, said when the bandits came to the community, they shot indiscriminately to scare away residents.
“They went to the chairman’s house but couldn’t gain entry. They shot at the door several times and when they entered, they took his wife. In the process, a police officer and a member of the vigilance group who went after them sustained gunshot injuries, alongside a woman.”
When our correspondent visited the FMC yesterday, the Chief Medical Director, Dr. Aliyu Hamza Balarabe, said they had to quickly operate on the vigilance group member to save his life. “We are planning to move quickly on the woman too. She had multiple fractures and a wound in the lower part of her chest,” he said.
The council chairman, Alhaji Bello Mamuda Zogirma, who confirmed the incident to newsmen on telephone, said the suspected bandits invaded the community at about 1:40am on Sunday and shot into the air.
He explained that the bandits in their numbers kidnapped his wife and a father in the family, adding that no life was lost during the attack.
He said: “The kidnapped persons have regained their freedom after the exchange of gunfire between the bandits and the police, with support from the vigilance group in the area”.
It was gathered that immediately after the attack, combined teams of the army, police and other security operatives launched a search around the bush in the area, which led to the arrest of one of the suspects that sustained gunshot wounds in one of the hospitals in Kamba, where he was taken for treatment by his colleagues.
The council chairman commended Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu and the security operatives for their quick response to the attack.