The New Diplomat--------There is palpable fear and tension in Maradun town, the hometown of the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, following the reported invasions of some suspected bandits.

It was gathered that the suspected bandits reportedly invaded the town located at the Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State in the early hours of Friday.
While details of the reported invasion remain sketchy as of press time, about two persons reportedly lost their lives while about 30 others were abducted.
Eye witness accounts said the bandits reportedly attacked the town at about 2:00 am and it lasted for about two hours, shooting sporadically and ransacking residents’ houses.
Speaking on the development, a traditional ruler said his house was ransacked by the bandits, and expressed dismay over the high level of insecurity in the town.

Traditional Ruler Sends SOS Message

The traditional ruler said: “It was to my hearing the bandits burgled my parlour’s door, coming towards my inner room, I managed to hide while my wives and children followed another passage and ran away to hide somewhere." 
Another resident of the town, Hassan Ibrahim, lamented that the attack was terrible as bandits were reportedly stationed at different locations with sophisticated weapons.
“When I heard their movement close to my door, I crossed over to a nearby wall and ran for my dear life and luckily escaped but overheard them saying that we have all hidden,” he added.