A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara State, Dr. Sani Shinkafi, has strongly condemned the recent killing of over 35 kidnapped victims by armed bandits in Kaura-Namoda Local Government Area of the state.

Addressing journalists in Gusau, the Zamfara State capital, Shinkafi, the former Chairman of the Committee called on the government to prosecute bandits related offences in the state, described the killings as “barbaric and ungodly,” while accusing the Federal Government of failing in its constitutional duty to protect lives and property.

He narrated how the victims abducted from Banga village in February were executed by the bandits despite payment of ransom by some of their relatives.

“These innocent people were kidnapped since February, 53 of them were kidnapped, including male and female, the bandit kingpin imposed a ransom of N1million per head, and only 18 relatives were able to pay,” he stated.

Shinkafi said the accounts of the released victims revealed horrifying acts committed by the kidnappers during captivity.

“One of the people who was released by the bandits reported to the community that the remaining people were brutally killed.”

“They were not slaughtered by the bandits, one after the other, you carry your relation and slaughter him by yourself, two people who resisted slaughtering their relations and were shot dead instantly,” he said.

Shinkafi shared the harrowing story of how three women gave birth in captivity, with one newborn gruesomely murdered.

“Three women delivered babies in captivity, and one of the women who gave birth, her baby was crying, and the bandits complained that the baby was disturbing them. They pulled out the baby, held his legs and smashed his head on a rock. His skull broke off, and the mother had a  serious heart attack and died within thirty minutes.”

Shinkafi also raised serious concerns over alleged attempts by federal authorities to broker peace with the notorious bandits’ leader, Bello Turji.

He claimed that efforts by the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) to apprehend Turji were halted due to directives from higher authorities.

“The civilian JTF were on the verge of arresting Turji hand-to-hand, and the government at the top directed the governor to stop the fight, that Turji is ready for reconciliation with the government,” Shinkafi stated.

He further revealed the existence of a committee led by a senator from Bauchi State, which allegedly engaged in peace dialogue with Turji in his hideout.

“A committee head by Senator Buba from Bauchi state, visited Shinkafi, and he visited our Emir. I called the Emir and he confirmed to me that this committee visited our Emirate and they came to reconcile with Turji; they went to meet Turji in his hideout.

“After that visit, Turji released two videos, parts 1 and 2, urging other armed bandit groups to embrace peace. How can they embrace peace, what are the modalities, what are the strategies?” he queried.

Shinkafi, therefore, called on the Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, to resist any pressure to negotiate with bandits, stressing that previous peace efforts had proven futile.

“We hereby call on the governor, no matter the pressure, he should not enter into any peace dialogue with bandits; they are not reliable, they are not trustworthy, they are betrayers and blood lickers; there is no need.”

“The previous government of Abdulaziz Yari negotiated with bandits, Bello Matawalle also entered peace dialogue with these armed bandits, but it has not yielded any results.”

He called on the Federal Government to deploy full security forces through a kinetic approach to fight the terrorists in the state.