Zamfara State has declared wanted a district head as it also announced the arrest of a village head who took part in the kidnapping of seven family members of a commissioner.
Declared wanted is Alhaji Mohammed Sani, district head of Ruwan Jema in Bukkuyum local government area. The government said he has been on the run for months now.
The village head of Gurbin Bore in Zurmi local government area, Alhaji Bello Magaji was confirmed to have participated in the kidnap of seven family members of the state’s Commissioner of Youth, Alhaji Abdullahi Gurbin Bore.
At a press briefing in Gusau on Friday, the state Commissioner of Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Bello Dankande said the district head, Sani was implicated in the attacks on innocent citizens by bandits in the state.
According to him, investigations had proved that the district head was among the traditional rulers who refused to heed several warnings by the state government, urging traditional rulers to steer clear of the bandits.
He explained that the district head abandoned his royal house and his subjects for over three months when he learned that security operatives were planning to pick and question him over his involvement with the bandits.
The commissioner noted that a dragnet had already been spread to arrest the district head.
Similarly, the commissioner said the village head of Gurbin Bore in Zurmi local government area and his collaborators collected N10 million ransom before releasing their victims after two weeks in captivity.
Dankande explained that in the course of an investigation, it was discovered that the village head fell apart with his fellow kidnappers who only gave him N800, 000 instead of the agreed 10 percent of the total sum which is N1 million.
“The village head had also been removed from his position and would be prosecuted in a court of law along with six other traditional rulers accused of the same offense.”
The commissioner said the state government in collaboration with security agencies were still investigating some traditional rulers suspected of banditry and if found guilty would be removed and prosecuted.
“The state government thanked the general public in the state for supporting security agencies with information leading to the arrest of bandits and dislodgement of their hideouts,” he added.
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