Zamfara State traditional ruler, the Emir of Zurmi, Bello Suleiman, has reportedly died.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Monday by the palace.
According to the statement, the traditional ruler died on Monday afternoon at the Federal Medical Centre in Gusau, the state capital.
It was gathered that the late Emir of Zurmi spent five years on the throne.
He had succeeded his uncle, Abubakar Atiku, who was deposed by the state government in 2021 and later formally removed in April 2022 alongside the Emir of Dansadau, Hussaini Umar, over alleged ties to banditry and interference with security efforts.
Atiku later died in an Egyptian hospital.
In May 2024, bandits overran Zurmi, ransacked the emir’s palace, killed three security personnel at the gate, and abducted several residents, including the emir’s chief detail (Shamaki), Buhari Yusuf, alongside two other men, Aliyu Ahmed and Sa’idu Lawali.
According to residents, the bandits claimed that the late monarch was indifferent to the alleged maltreatment of Fulani residents by local vigilantes.
Zurmi, located along the border with the Niger Republic and sharing a boundary with Katsina State, is the second most populous town in Zamfara State after Gusau.
