A Nigerian soldier attached to 4SF Command in Baga, Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State has been killed by gunmen suspected to be bandits in Zamfara State.
His colleague, who was travelling with him, was spared by the gunmen.
Sources said that the soldiers had passes to visit their families in Zamfara.
The incident reportedly occurred along Gusau Road last week while the soldiers were travelling to Zamfara State in a commercial bus.
According to the sources, one of the soldiers was killed for allegedly proving stubborn while the other was abducted alongside other passengers.
The kidnappers have however made contact with the abducted soldier’s family members and demanded a ransom of N100 million for his release.
An audio file also confirmed the ransom demand.
“The bandits attacked a bus which had two soldiers on pass to go and see their parents in Zamfara State. They realised that one of the soldiers was very stubborn and they killed him immediately while the other one was abducted.
“They have started communicating with his relatives and N100 million is the least amount they demanded right now; the two were from Baga 4SF command,” one of the sources said
Zamfara is one of the states in the Northern region plagued by criminals known as bandits who raid and loot villages, kill residents and burn houses.
The gangs have camps in the state and neighbouring states including Katsina, Kaduna, and Niger.
They have carried out mass abduction of students from schools in recent years.
In 2019, the state government under former governor and current Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle had a peace agreement with the gunmen.
But despite the accord, communities in the state were frequently attacked and residents kidnapped and/or killed.