Bandits abducted scores of worshippers at a Juma’at Mosque in Zugu, Gummi local government area, Zamfara State, on Friday.
Residents claimed the armed men attacked the mosque as the Imam was ready to begin his lecture, according to the Daily Trust.
The intruders allegedly told those outside the mosque to get inside.
“When they laid siege, they asked those outside to go into the mosque and tell the worshippers that they had come to negotiate the release of some captives with them.
“No one saw them with guns and many people mistook them for worshippers. Nobody paid attention to them because they hid their guns. However, shortly after they moved inside the mosque, they brought out the rifles and fired some warning shots.
They herded the congregants in to a bush but some of the worshippers managed to scramble out of the mosque to safety. The muezzin was among those kidnapped but the Imam was able to escape the assault.
“Some those who were outside the mosque were also abducted because unknown to them that some armed men took positions outside. They fired several gunshots into the air and then moved to forest with the captives,” a resident who simply identified himself as Abubakar said.