A terrorist group, led by a notorious kingpin, Damina, in Zamfara State, has killed 10 residents of Kwanar-Dutse, after the community failed to pay the N20 million levy he imposed on them some weeks ago.
According to reports, Damina led hundreds of fighters into the community a few minutes after 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Kwanar Dutse in the Dansadau emirate of Maru local government area is one of the most attacked communities in the State.
A resident of Kwanar-Dutse, who asked not to be named for security reasons, told newsmen that the attackers stormed the community after the early evening Islamic prayer. The resident, who is a community leader, added that his cousin was one of those killed by the terrorists during the assault that lasted for hours.
Another resident of Dansadau town, who also pleaded for anonymity for security reasons, said his house is filled with refugees from Kwanar Dutse. “Residents of Malele, Ruwan Tofa, Mutunji and Kwana, and most of the communities in the northern part (of Dansadau) are in a critical situation, because they’ve become easy targets for the terrorists; especially those under Damina. They routinely impose huge levies, running into millions of naira, on the communities and when they fail to pay, they descend and kill them like animals,” he said.
It was gathered that several people from the community were also abducted by the terrorists.
Recall that in November last year, Damina’s group abducted over 100 residents of Mutunji and two other communities in Dansadau emirate after the community failed to pay levies imposed on them for allegedly revealing information on terrorists’ movements to security agents. The activities of terrorists have led to the death and displacement of hundreds of thousands of people in the North-West region.
The State’s Police Command spokesperson, Yazid Abubakar, did not respond to calls and SMS sent to him on the attack as of the time of filing this report.
