Malam Yakubu Muhammad Bugai, vice chairman of the Brinin-Gwari branch of the Jama’atu Izatatul Bid’ah Wa Iqamatus-Sunnah (JIBWIS), has passed away as a result of wounds inflicted on him during a bandit attack.
He was shot on his farm in Rema, Birnin-Gwari, but when he was rushed to the Jibril Mai-Gwari General Hospital on Thursday after the assailants shot him, it was confirmed that he had died.
Ishaq Usman Kasai, the chairman of the Birnin-Gwari Emirate Progressives Union (BEPU), also confirmed the tragedy and extended his heartfelt condolences in a statement.
The late Mal. Yakubu Bugai was a major player in the Birnin-Gwari Orphans Foundation, which was founded to take care of the thousands of orphans who had been left behind by local victims of armed banditry.
BEPU further described numerous instances of innocent farmers being abducted in the local government area. It narrated that on Friday, July 21, 2023, bandits attacked Unguwar Bawa in Randagi Ward and abducted 28 individuals, including women and children.
It pointed out that two people were abducted in successive attacks on Tuesday close to Eka Farm, nine people were abducted and one person was killed on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, in Unguwan Roka of Kakangi Ward.
It also noted that four residents were taken hostage from their farms in Yelwa Community, Sabon-Layi axis, condemning the bandits’ continued rampage on Thursday night, in Unguwan Danfulani, where they killed one person and abducted seven family members.
According to the statement, the bandits kidnapped six people during the one-hour-long raid as they obstructed traders and grain suppliers on their route to Birnin-Gwari weekly market.
The union voiced their worry over the attacks on farmers, claiming that they have made almost 70% of farmlands unusable and put this year’s agricultural outputs in jeopardy.
The union requested that military detachments be put in place in the Western half of Birnin-Gwari’s Katakaki, Gagumi, Tashar-Keji, and Bugai axes.
As of the time this report was filed, the Public Relations Officer to the State Police, DSP Mohammed Jalige, did not respond to calls or texts regarding this incident.