From Paul Orude Bauchi
A young woman in Bauchi State has given a touching account of how her mother was brutally killed by bandits, while preventing the abduction of her son.
Halima, who described her 52-year-old mother, Maryam Mohammed, as a hero, said the bandits struck their community, Sabon Gari Jada, in Alkaleri Local Government Area, at about 6pm, on Tuesday evening.
“They were shooting sporadically,” she said, with tearful eyes.
The bandits, according to the council Chairman, Yusuf Garba, infiltrated the state through neighbouring communities in Plateau and Taraba states, attacked and killed four people in some communities in Bauchi.
“Everybody was afraid. They got to our house and dragged my elder brother, Yaya, and tried to abduct him, but my mother wouldn’t let them,” Halima said.
She said her mother took a pestle from the kitchen and fearlessly attempted to prevent the heavily armed bandits from letting go of her son.
“She was brave. There were 11 of them that entered our house. They tried to kill my brother by shooting him. When they didn’t succeed, they decided to take him away, but my mother refused.”
Halima said her mother broke the arm of one of the bandits and she was shot before fleeing. She said they inflicted heavy injuries on her brother Yaya before fleeing Sabon Garin Jada.
Governor Bala Mohammed visited the community on Saturday, to sympathise with residents of communities attacked by bandits. Mohammed described the slain Maryam, a mother of eight children, as a hero who died to save loved ones, saying she would not be forgotten for her rare sacrifice.
He decried the activities of bandits in the state recently, saying that the government would not fold its hands and watch the state being overrun by them.
The governor charged every citizen to join hands with security agencies and the government, to prevent bandits from operating in any part of the state.