Abubakar Atiku, the deposed Emir of Zurmi in Zamfara State has died in Egypt after battling an undisclosed illness.

A source at Emir Zurmi’s palace, who asked not to be identified, said the Emirate Council is fully involved in arranging for the body to be brought back to Nigeria for burial.

Atiku, the uncle of the current emir, died on Friday in an Egyptian hospital.

The source said: “He had been ill for a few weeks before his immediate family took him to Egypt. We were informed immediately when he died”.

When asked why the body still hadn’t been returned as of Monday night, the source said he didn’t know because it was “a family matter.”

Deposed

Atiku was deposed along with his Dansadau counterpart Hussaini Umar in April by the Zamfara state government after they were accused of thwarting efforts to arrest suspected bandits and aiding cattle rustlers.

Birnin Tsaba district chief Sulaiman Ibrahim was deposed for the same alleged offense.

They were suspended for the first time in 2021. A committee inaugurated to investigate the accusations against them recommended that they be deposed as traditional rulers.

After the presentation of the report to the state government, the deputy governor, Hassan Nasiha, announced the dismissal of the three monarchs.

“The Zamfara State Government approved the immediate deposition of Zurmi Emir Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Dansadau Emir Alhaji Hussaini Umar and also ordered the immediate removal of Birnin Tsaba District Chief Alhaji Suleman Ibrahim Dan Yabin Birnin Tsaba”, said. he said.

Zamfara, like other areas in the northwestern region of Nigeria, is convulsed by attacks by armed men locally called bandits who mainly target rural communities and travelers.

These bandits have been blamed for killing thousands of people. They have also kidnapped many people in what is becoming the worst era of kidnapping for ransom in the country.

Zurmi and Dansadau are the epicenters of bandit activities in the state.