Daily Lens
No fewer than 40 worshippers were abducted on Monday morning when armed bandits stormed a mosque in Gidan Turbe village, Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
Daily lens Report The attack, which occurred around 5:30 a.m. during morning prayers, is seen by community stakeholders as a clear collapse of the recent peace deal brokered between authorities in Katsina and Zamfara States and the bandits terrorising the North-West.
Just weeks earlier, on August 28, 2025, leaders of Kurfi Local Government Area in Katsina, alongside key bandit commanders, signed a ceasefire agreement at Wurma forest. The pact, witnessed by community heads and security stakeholders, had raised hopes of ending years of killings, kidnappings, and cattle rustling. Several abductees were released, and farmers were allowed to return to their fields under the deal.
However, less than a month later, the abduction of dozens of worshippers has cast serious doubt on the truce. Local sources said the attackers surrounded the mosque before whisking the victims into the forests around the Gohori axis of Tsafe.
“The bandits have no command structure. While negotiations are happening in Katsina, others continue to strike in Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Kaduna,” one source told Daily lens
Meanwhile, troops under Operation Hadarin Daji have intensified counter-operations across Katsina, Zamfara, and Kebbi States. Military sources confirmed that several terrorist attacks were foiled in recent days, with motorcycles, weapons, and communication devices recovered.
Still, the Gidan Turbe incident highlights the fragility of peace efforts in the region, where overlapping bandit factions operate without central leadership, making sustained negotiations difficult.
Security operations were ongoing at the time of filing this report.
