Zamfara family burned alive: 11, 12 or 13 dead — and seven still in bandits’ hands

Photo: File photo of armed bandits · Source: Vanguard (Oct 2023 file photo — not the Gidan Taba attack)

The death toll is now disputed three ways — police say 11, the council chairman says 12, one reporter says 13 — and residents say seven people are still in the bandits’ hands and no help came.

Armed bandits killed members of the same family and abducted several other residents during an attack on Gidan Taba village in Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State on Saturday night — but the death toll and the number abducted are now disputed three ways.

The Zamfara State Police Command has now spoken. Police PRO DSP Yazid Abubakar confirmed the attack on Sunday and put the death toll at 11, saying the family of Mallam Muhammadu Sani locked themselves in a room which the bandits set on fire, and that 14 residents were abducted.

The Maradun Local Government Chairman, Hon. Sanusi Ahmed Dosara, and AFP and village residents say 12 were killed and 7 abducted (six women and a 10-year-old boy). Conflict reporter Bakatsine, via Daily Post, says 13 were killed — Sani Ɗanwawo and 12 family members; one of Sani’s younger brother’s wives escaped, which accounts for 13 people in the room and 12 dead. Premium Times reports Sani was a vigilante member allegedly targeted for resisting the bandits. NewsFlux is reporting all three figures: the toll is disputed and no single figure is settled.

Residents told Daily Trust they alerted the chairman, who contacted security formations, but no security personnel arrived before the attack ended; police say they only came afterwards to ask questions, though the command says a reinforcement team has now been deployed. Residents say seven people were abducted and remained in bandits’ custody at the time of reporting, disputing claims of rescues; the chairman says vigilantes rescued some captives after a gunfight, and the exact rescued number is still unknown.

The attack took place in Dosara Birnin Kaya Ward and targeted the household of Mallam Muhammadu Sani. The family had locked themselves inside a room in an attempt to escape abduction. When the bandits found the door shut and the family refused to open it, they set the room ablaze. The victims died from the intense heat after the roof caught fire, rather than from direct flames, according to Dosara. The victims were buried on Sunday morning according to Islamic rites, with Dosara leading the funeral prayers at the village. The head of the family was described by police as an active member of the community vigilante group. Troops separately rescued two kidnapped women in Bukkuyum/Anka on Saturday evening.

Update, 9 Nov 2026 (evening): this article was updated after the toll dispute hardened into three figures — police 11, council chairman 12, conflict reporter Bakatsine 13 — and residents said seven people are still held and no security personnel arrived before the attack ended. The earlier version reported the police toll of 11 and the chairman’s 12 as a two-way dispute.

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