• We are not aware – Commissioner 

By Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo 

No fewer than 51 local vigilante members were killed in Zamfara State by terrorists on election day and their corpses are still left in the bushes, due to fear of the killer gangs.

The incident happened in the Maru Local Government Area of the state. 

A Councillor in the area, Hon. Iliya Darega told journalists that the vigilante members that were mobilised from 3 communities in the area, went on patrol on election day, Saturday the 18th of March, but were ambushed and killed by the terrorists.

He said they’ve informed the police, traditional rulers in the area and other relevant security agencies about the killing and abandoned corpses, but nothing was done about it 

“We are worried about the corpses, the dead bodies are still in the bushes. We would have loved to bury them but people are afraid of the killer terrorists in the bushes,” he said.

When the BBC Hausa Service contacted the Zamfara Commissioner for information on the matter, he said they were not informed about the incident.

The Police in the affected community said they were still awaiting the details. 

Zamfara in Northwest Nigeria had suffered heavy attacks and killings by terrorists over the past few years, a development that made many locals migrate to safer locations, leaving many communities under the control and occupation of non-state actors.