Gunmen Kill 18 In Zamfara Fresh Attack …As Army Places N3m Bounty On Shekau

The police in Zamfara State say 18 persons have died in a fresh attack by gunmen in Birane village in Zurmi Local Government Area of the state.
The Public Relations Officer of the Zamfara State Police Command, Muhammad Shehu, disclosed this in a statement issued to journalists in Gusau yesterday.
Mr. Shehu said on February 13, hunters from Birani Village of Zurmi Local Government Area intercepted and accosted a herder in the bush with some suspected stolen cattle and sheep.
“The herder abandoned the animals and escaped into the bush, but unknown to the hunters, the cattle rustler went to Isah Local Government Area of Sokoto State and mobilised bandits to attack the hunters.
“On February 14, the bandits ambushed the hunters in the bush and there was a clash that led to fatality on both sides.
“Police/military and other sister agencies reacted by combing the bush and its environs to salvage the situation and discovered 18 dead bodies.
“It is believed that the bandits took away their own members that were killed. Meanwhile, bush combing is in progress so as to further profile the area.
“Mobile policemen/special forces and other security personnel from other sister security agencies have already been deployed to the area to restore peace and stability,” he said.
The spokesman also said that the command’s Intelligence Unit had already embarked on investigation to arrest the perpetrators of the attack.
The attack comes a day after a senator from the state, Kabir Marafa, lamented the repeated mass killings by armed bandits in the state.
Mr. Marafa, while calling for a Senate investigation, said hundreds of people have been killed and scores of women and girls raped by armed persons in the state.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Nigeria Army has promised a N3 million cash reward for credible information on the hideout of Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, whom it declared a fugitive.
Army spokesman, Sani Usman, a Brigadier General, made this known in a statement issued, yesterday.
This would be the third bounty placed on the Boko Haram leader since 2012.
In November 2012, the federal government offered a N290 million cash reward for any information that would lead to arrest of Mr. Shekau.
In June, 2013, the United States of America officially declared Boko Haram a terrorist organisation and placed a $7 million ransom on Mr. Shekau.
About four years after, it appears the worth of the Boko Haram leader has gone down following the degrading of his once formidable terror group.
The army has repeatedly claimed to have killed Mr. Shekau, who appears later in videos to dismiss the claim.
Mr. Shekau has appeared in at least two new videos this year taunting the military’s effort to completely defeat his group.
Mr. Usman’s statement on the promised ransom reads:
“The Nigerian Army will give out Three Million Naira (N3,000,000.00k) cash reward for any credible information that leads to the arrest of Abubakar Shekau, the fugitive factional Boko Haram terrorists’ group leader.