The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in Zamfara State has criticised Governor Dauda Lawal for travelling to Ethiopia after a deadly attack in Bindin, Maru Local Government Area.
Reports said 12 soldiers and five artisanal miners were killed, but the military has not confirmed the casualty figures.
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The violence reportedly began on Monday, although accounts differ on whether the attack on the military position occurred that day or on Tuesday.
In a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Murtala Gusau, the NDC accused Mr Lawal of abandoning the state while residents of the affected community mourned the dead.
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The governor left Nigeria on Tuesday as part of a federal government delegation led by Vice President Kashim Shettima to Addis Ababa for the Nigeria-Ethiopia Nutrition Leadership Exchange, scheduled for 7 to 9 October.
Police confirm attack, military says operation ongoing
The Police Public Relations Officer in Zamfara State, Yazid Abubakar, confirmed the Bindin incident in a telephone interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday.
“The incident happened quite all right,” Mr Abubakar said.
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He, however, said the area falls under the operational responsibility of Operation FANSAN YAMMA and referred questions about the details to the military.
Mr Abubakar explained that the police ordinarily do not confirm details of incidents involving the military because the joint task force has its own spokesperson.
Asked whether PREMIUM TIMES could report that the police had confirmed the incident while directing inquiries about the details to the military, he said yes.
PREMIUM TIMES also contacted the Acting Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 8 Division/Sector 2, Operation FANSAN YAMMA, Lieutenant-Colonel Olaniyi Osoba, seeking confirmation of the attack and the reported deaths of soldiers and civilians.
Mr Osoba did not confirm the casualty figures, saying military operations were still underway in the area.
“We face attacks daily. The area generally is vulnerable,” he said.
“We are conducting an operation in the area presently. I cannot confirm anything to you until we have finished our operation there.”
Accounts differ on timing and sequence of the violence
AFP reported that the attack occurred on Monday, 5 October, saying armed men first attacked an artisanal mining site outside Bindin, killing five miners, before entering the community, where 12 soldiers were killed in a shootout.
An earlier report published on Tuesday also said armed attackers struck Bindin and neighbouring Gobirawar Chali on Monday. That report put the number of security personnel reportedly killed at 14 but said the civilian casualty figure was still unclear.
Leadership, however, reported that 12 soldiers and five civilians were killed when armed attackers struck a military position at Bindin.
It quoted a resident, Mukhtar Bello, as saying the attack followed an earlier confrontation in which artisanal miners overpowered and killed a bandit who had allegedly threatened them and seized his AK-47 rifle.
According to that account, a larger group of attackers subsequently descended on the military position, where troops engaged them in a gun battle.
The resident also claimed that two soldiers were abducted and that the attackers took weapons and military equipment.
The military has not confirmed those claims.
AFP put the overall death toll at 17 but gave a different sequence of events.
The news agency reported that armed men on motorcycles first attacked an artisanal mining site outside Bindin, killing five miners, before moving into the community, where 12 soldiers were killed during an exchange of gunfire.
AFP quoted local councillor Abdullahi Musa Mutunji as confirming the deaths. It also reported that the military had not responded to its request for comment.
The accounts differ on the timing and sequence of the attack, but both put the reported toll at 12 soldiers and five civilians.
PREMIUM TIMES has not independently verified the casualty figures, while the military has said it would not confirm details until its ongoing operation in the area is concluded.
NDC faults Lawal
Reacting to the incident, the NDC expressed condolences to the families of the security personnel and civilians reportedly killed.
The statement, issued on behalf of its Zamfara State chairman, Surajo Garba Maikatako, criticised Mr Lawal for travelling outside the country following the attack.
The party said the governor should have remained in Zamfara to identify with the affected community.
“Leadership is defined by presence and empathy in times of crisis,” the party said.
It recalled Mr Lawal’s campaign pledge to tackle banditry in Zamfara and accused his administration of failing to end the security crisis.
The NDC called on the governor to return to Zamfara and address residents over the attack.
It also criticised the federal government over the governor’s inclusion in the Nigerian delegation to Ethiopia and called for those responsible for the Bindin attack to be brought to justice.
“The people of Zamfara deserve a leader who prioritises their safety and well-being above all else,” the party said.
The NDC also accused the federal government of insensitivity for allowing the governor to participate in the trip while his state was dealing with the aftermath of the attack.
The party, however, did not provide evidence that the federal government approved the delegation after the Bindin attack.
READ ALSO: 41 travellers rescued after abduction attempt in Zamfara — Military
Lawal joins Shettima in Ethiopia
The Vice President Shettima-led Nigerian delegation is participating in the Nigeria-Ethiopia Nutrition Leadership Exchange in Addis Ababa.
The delegation left Nigeria on Tuesday ahead of the programme, which runs from Wednesday to Friday.
Mr Lawal and Jigawa State Governor Umar Namadi are among the governors accompanying the vice president.
Other members include the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu; the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari; and the Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency, Zubaida Umar.
The programme is intended to allow Nigerian officials to exchange experiences with their Ethiopian counterparts on coordinating nutrition policies and programmes across federal, state and local levels.
The visit follows commitments made under the federal government’s Nutrition 774 Initiative and includes discussions on Ethiopia’s approach to translating nutrition policy into coordinated programmes at national and sub-national levels.
Mr Shettima and members of the delegation arrived in Addis Ababa on Tuesday evening.
The Zamfara State Government had not responded to the NDC’s criticism as of the time of filing this report.
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