Speaker’s father kidnapped dies in forest; bandit leader announces to relatives

The father of Zamfara ‘s Speaker Nasiru Magarya bandits kidnapped in August has died in captivity.

Abubakar Magsrya was the district head of Magarya kidnapped with his household, including a baby then.

No fewer than 16 members of the household were rescued October 2 except the old man.

The State Commissioner of Police, CP Ayuba Elkanah who confirmed the rescue, said the victims were abandoned by their abductors who are fleeing the forest following offensives been unleashed against them by security operatives.

The commissioner stated that the speaker’s father was still missing as he could not be found amongst the rescued victims.

But the elder brother of the district head, Malam Dahiru Magarya who was among the released kidnapped victims, told newsmen the Speaker’s father is dead.

“One of the bandits’ leaders popularly known as Kachalla informed me that my brother died of heart failure while in captivity.

“We were separated when they kidnapped us, they took my brother to another camp but it was Kachalla, one of the commanders of the bandits that told me about the death of my brother which was a result of a heart attack hours before our rescue,” he said.

The police haven’t made any official statement on that.

It appeared the Magaryas were targeted in a series of attacks on the village.

The speaker’s house was burnt down in one of those attacks after the kidnap.