As Kingpin Jammo Flaunts Impunity: Captures 39 Negotiators in Forest Parley
By Ezinwanne Onwuka
The second week of June was marked by spectacular mass kidnapping, with the abduction of 39 men who had gone to broker peace with a terrorist-bandit kingpin in northwest Nigeria. By the weekend, that single incident had widened into a broader picture of violence across the country’s North: at least 50 people killed, no fewer than 40 kidnapped, and several others injured in a wave of attacks that hit farming communities, schools, security patrols, and remote villages across multiple states.
Killings and Abductions in Northwest
Terrorist-bandits in Zamfara State derailed what was thought by local citizens to be a hostage-turnover effort. On Sunday, June 7, a group of community representatives from the Magami/Faru area of Maradun County traveled to Fadama Forest to meet the parents and representatives of a notorious Fulani ethnic criminal leader known as “Jammo.”
The 50-member delegation went to broker so-called reconciliation and open a path for peaceful engagement. The talks were reportedly initiated by the bandit leader himself, who claimed he was tired of fighting after losing a member of his gang.
While the meeting was underway, the bandit leader allegedly arrived with members of his gang and held the entire delegation hostage. He eventually released only 11 members and held the remaining 39 captive—most of them elderly men.
Local officials say the bandits sent those freed back to deliver their demands. The group is asking for ₦24 million (about $17,000) and the return of weapons they claim security forces seized from them.
On Friday, June 12, bandits killed at least 17 farmers in Goron Namaye in Maradun and injured at least 13 others while they were working on their farms.
Local officials linked the violence to the state government’s refusal to negotiate with the armed groups and urged security forces to dismantle a known hideout in the Bayan-Ruwa forest.
In Kebbi State, Lakurawa terrorists killed more than 20 people in an attack on Fesken Rafi community in the Arewa area, near the border with Niger, according to a United Nations security report cited by local media.
Local media reports suggest the death toll could be higher as authorities continue to verify the number of victims.
The exact date of the attack was not specified, but intelligence sources indicate it happened a few days before the report was circulated on June 14.
Attacks on Security Forces
Armed groups also targeted security forces during the week.
In northwest Kaduna State, terrorists ambushed troops moving through communities along the Kaduna River on Monday, June 8.
The soldiers were responding to an earlier attack when the assailants struck, killing eight troops, including a lieutenant.
In northeast Borno State, troops of the 3 Battalion (Mechanized), 24 Task Force Brigade, came under attack by suspected Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters in the early hours of Friday, June 12.
The attackers advanced from multiple directions, but troops responded with sustained firepower, backed by reinforcements from battalion headquarters, forcing the insurgents to retreat.
Security forces later recovered unexploded ordnance and other equipment along the escape route. One soldier sustained injuries from fragments of a rocket-propelled grenade blast.
School Security Threats
On Wednesday, June 10, gunmen stormed a high school in north-central Kogi State while final-year students were taking a national exam.
The attackers arrived on motorcycles in broad daylight and opened fire, killing the vice principal, a 70-year-old man, along with two others, including a six-year-old boy.
Police say they have not confirmed a mass abduction, though local media, including Daily Trust, report the abduction of three students and some residents.
In Borno State, Boko Haram militants burned down primary and secondary schools in Kautikari village in Chibok County during a nighttime raid. The Islamist militants also killed one person during the Saturday, June 13, assault.
Chibok is still globally associated with the 2014 schoolgirl abductions. Boko Haram translates to “Western education is forbidden.”
In southern Edo State, officials moved to prevent a similar incident. Acting on intelligence warnings of a planned attack, authorities shut down three public secondary schools in the state’s northern district to avert a possible mass abduction.
Village Raids Sweep Across North-Central Nigeria
In Kwara State, gunmen carried out coordinated nighttime raids on three communities on Thursday, June 11. The affected areas included Gaa-Alla and Gaa-Oke Abba in Isin County, as well as Famole in Ifelodun County.
The attackers moved simultaneously across the villages, abducting residents and exchanging fire with locals.
In Gaa-Alla, police confirmed at least two kidnappings. The exact number of victims taken from Gaa-Oke Abba remains unclear. In Famole, one person was killed after residents engaged the attackers in a gunfight.
In Plateau State, Fulani militia killed one person and injured another in an attack on Kwagas village in Panyam District of Mangu County.
The attackers invaded the community in the early hours of Friday, June 12, and opened fire on residents.
Troops from Sector 8 of Operation Safe Haven responded after a distress call, but they arrived after the attackers had fled.
In Niger State, terrorists killed three people and burned several houses during an attack on the Pissa community in Borgu County in the early hours of Saturday, June 13.
A resident told Daily Trust that the attackers, riding on about 200 motorcycles, entered the area after nightfall and waited until daybreak before setting houses on fire. Only a small number of structures were left untouched.
Residents said they fled into surrounding hills after receiving warnings of the attack and watched from a distance as their homes were burned.
One of those killed was identified as a vigilante, Jamilu Suleiman, who tried to confront the attackers. Another victim was reportedly struck by a stray bullet while in hiding.
The spokesperson for the Niger State Police Command, Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed the attack, saying three people were killed and several houses were destroyed.
After the assault on Pissa, the attackers moved to the nearby village of Ilorin-Borgu, where they continued their operations until Sunday morning.
Two High-Profile Hostages Die in Captivity
Meanwhile, two kidnapped victims died in captivity during the week.
A retired army general, Major General Abubakar Rabe, who was abducted alongside his wife, died while in the custody of his captors.
In a statement on Saturday, Nasiru Mu’azu, commissioner for internal security and home affairs in Katsina State, said Rabe died a “natural death from complications of diabetes and hypertension.”
However, his family disputed the claim, saying he had no known history of either condition. The woman remains in captivity.
In a separate case, an Islamic cleric who was kidnapped alongside a political figure also died after his health deteriorated in captivity, despite ongoing efforts to secure his release.
Ezinwanne Onwuka is a conflict reporter for TruthNigeria.
