By Folayimika Akanbi
A Director of Planning with Talata Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara State, Jamilu Sani; a Councilor for Jangebe Ward in the local government area, Muslim Habibu, have been murdered in their abductors’ captivity.
They were gruesomely killed 10 days after their abduction.
Wind Gate News reports that unidentified terrorists abducted the two council officials on May 18, 2026 and turned down a ransom to secure the release of the victims after a negotiation with them.
Yahaya Yari, the Chairman of Talata Mafara local government area, on Thursday, confirmed the killing of Sani and Habibu in Talata Mafara while on a condolence visit to the families of the deceased.
Yari noted that after days of negotiations, the terrorists began acting weird toward him and the negotiators.
He said, “We began discussing ransom with them (terrorists) immediately after the abduction and at first, they made us believe they were serious.
“Later, they said anyone they abducted from Jangebe, they would not collect his money (ransom) because they would just kill him. To be honest with you, the last communication we had with them, they confirmed that they had been killed.”
The terrorists snatched the deceased at gunpoint on their way from Jangebe to the local government headquarters over Hajj activities for intending pilgrims from Jangebe.
It was gathered that Sani, Habibu and the council’s assistant revenue officer were driving from Jangebe to Mafara on 18 May when gunmen attacked them on the Anka – Mayanchi highway.
The revenue officer escaped with gunshot wounds, but the other two officials were captured.
Salatul Gaib, an Islamic funeral prayer, was conducted for the deceased since their bodies could not be reclaimed.
Local sources told Premium Times in Talata Mafara that the terrorists were angry that the local government and Jangebe people armed a militia, Yan Sakai, and invited the Civilian Joint Task Force from the North-East to fight the terrorists.
A government source, who craved anonymity on a phone conversation on Friday, said, “A year or so back, when the bandits pressurised the people of Jangebe, the chairman sat with the stakeholders of the ward and a decision was reached that Yan Sakai should be empowered with weapons to fight the bandits. A lot of their people (terrorists) were killed by our people (Jangebe). So, that is why they now say abducted people from Jangebe would be killed.”
Talata Mafara is in the western part of Zamfara that has become vulnerable to terrorists’ activities, especially on the main and secondary roads. The roads that have been constantly attacked by the terrorists include Mayanchi-Talata Mafara, Mayanchi-Anka-Gummi, and Danbaza-Maradun.
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