Tragedy has befallen Zamfara State with the passing of Zarah Abubakar Shehu, a 21-year-old student at the Federal University Gusau, who succumbed while in captivity four months after being abducted alongside her two siblings.
Zarah, a third-year student, was forcibly taken from her residence in the Damba area of Gusau during the early hours of Sunday, November 3, 2024, by armed bandits.
Initially, the kidnappers demanded a ransom of ₦35 million for their release, but after negotiations, they settled for ₦10 million.
In a publication on Sunday, a counter-insurgency expert focused on the Lake Chad region, Zagazola Makama, noted that despite the payment of the ransom, the captors refused to release Zarah, insisting on additional demands of four motorcycles (Boza) and four cartons of engine oil before they would consider her freedom.
After extensive efforts to fulfill these demands, the required items were eventually procured.
However, upon notifying the leader of the kidnappers, he informed his associates, who then disclosed that Zarah had tragically passed away and had been buried two days prior.
Zarah was the only daughter of her mother and endured four months of captivity before her premature demise.
Meanwhile, terrorists believed to be affiliated with the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) launched an assault on a commercial vehicle along the Maiduguri-Banki road in Borno State.
One individual sustained injuries, and the vehicle’s driver was taken hostage during the incident.
It was reported that the attack transpired on February 27 at approximately 1:15 p.m. near the abandoned village of Tufa in the Banki Local Government Area.
In an interview, the driver, Bello Abba, whose vehicle bore the registration number Adamawa JMT 994 YR, recounted that he was transporting six passengers from Maiduguri to Banki when armed assailants on motorcycles emerged from the surrounding bush and opened fire on his vehicle.
In a bid to evade the attackers, the driver executed a U-turn back towards Banki town.
During the assault, a passenger named Mohammed Ali Yaye, aged 38 and hailing from Bama town, was shot in the left leg.
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