A senior All Progressives Congress (APC) leader in Zamfara State, Umar Moriki, was shot dead by suspected armed bandits early on Saturday along the Gusau–Tsafe highway near Fegi village in Tsafe Local Government Area, according to multiple reports.

Yusuf Idris, the APC State Publicity Secretary, confirmed Moriki’s death in a statement issued on behalf of the party, calling it “a tragic loss to the party and the state.”

Idris said Moriki had just attended a stakeholders’ meeting hosted by the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, earlier that day in Gusau.

Moriki, aged 62, held several political roles: he was once Vice Chairman of Zurmi Local Government, Director-General of a state agency, and Special Adviser on Rural Electrification.

He also ran for the Zurmi/Shinkafi House of Representatives seat in the 2023 elections.

He is survived by three wives and several children. Idris praised Moriki as a “dedicated party man and community figure” who devoted his life to public service.

This killing underscores ongoing insecurity in Zamfara, a state frequently hit by bandit attacks on highways and rural communities.