REIGN OF TERROR IN ZAMFARA
Killer Bandits in All But 3 LGAs Slaughter Another 23 on Friday Attacks Spill into 17 LGAs in Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto Why Banditry Persists – Expert
Only three out of the 14 local governments in Zamfara State have not come under attacks by armed bandits that have been terrorizing communities there over the years, checks by Daily Trust on Sunday have shown. Hundreds of lives and property worth billions of naira have been lost to the rampaging criminals whose attacks are targeted mostly at rural communities.
The latest in the series of killings by the bandits took place Friday evening at Zanuka in Anka Local Government, where 23 people were slaughtered. It is happening less than a week after 30 people were killed at Gidan Goga, a village in Maradun Local Government Area, about 64km from the state capital, Gusau.
Checks by Daily Trust on Sunday have shown that the assailants have forced many people out of their homes, to take refuge with friends and relatives in neighbouring communities. In some areas, farming activities have become impossible because of the risks people face going to farms.
Zamfara has been bedeviled by the activities of armed cattle rustlers who use its vast forested areas as hideouts from where they launch raids on defenseless communities. Since 2011 when the attacks started, the bandits have been increasing the frequency and expanding the areas of assaults.
Using the large expanse of forest straddling many states as cover, the rustlers have been able to cross over into neighbouring Katsina, Kaduna, Sokoto and Niger states to unleash mayhem.
Their operations have been the major source of security concerns in parts of the NorthWest and North-Central since the successes of security agencies in curtailing the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents to few areas of the North-East.
In March, President Muhammadu Buhari visited Zamfara, promising an improvement in the security situation in the state. The President, had last year November, ordered the military to crackdown on the assailants following deadly attacks in Shinkafi and Maradun. Buhari also approved the stationing of a full battalion of special forces in the state, operationalization of a newly-established 8 Division in Sokoto and movement of 1 Brigade of the Nigerian Army from Sokoto to Gusau.
The interventions followed Buahri’s first visit to the state as president in 2016, where he personally launched Operation Harbin Kunama to flush out the bandits from the state.
On its part, the Nigerian Air force said in April that it was deploying its “special forces, who were trained in asymmetric warfare,” to the state to tackle the menace.
Communities went into wild jubilation and heaved a sigh of relief when the corpse of a notorious rustling kingpin, Buharin Daji, was paraded by soldiers in the streets of Gusau after he was killed by one of his lieutenants. The death of the gang leader was hailed as a sign to an end to the carnage in the state.
Residents said the measures by security forces paid off by disrupting the activities of the criminals and making their communities safe once again, but only temporarily. The military has announced the killing of many attackers and the recovery of large cache of weapons. However, there are complaints, now, that the bandits have bounced back with even deadlier raids.
There are fears all over the state that attacks could happen any time and anywhere, as the bandits operate in all the local governments in the state with only the exception of three.
Investigation shows that only Bakura, Gumi and Kaura Namoda local governments have not experienced any form of attacks from the criminals, while Anka, Birnin Magaji, Maradun, Maru, Tsafe, Zurmi, Shinkafi, Gusau, Bukkuyum Bungudu and Talata Mafara are affected, with some of them appearing to be under the vice grip of the attackers.
23 killed Friday night
Latest in the spate of the attacks took place Friday night when gunmen killed about 23 people in an attack on Zanuka village in Anka Local Government Area of the Zamfara state, Daily Trust on
Sunday gathered. The attack came a week after 30 people were killed in a similar attack on Malikawa village in Maradun Local Government Area of the state.
The deadly raid on Zanuka village is the fourth of its type on four communities in Anka Local Government Area this year, raising the death toll to 85.
A resident, Musa Ali, said the assailants arrived on motorbikes and laid siege to the town. “They blocked all escape routes, firing at those trying to escape the carnage.”
“I was not in the community when they struck. One of my
brothers who knew my location ran to me and warned that I should not go back home now because attackers had invaded the village and were killing people,” he added.
A resident, Isah Kailani told Daily Trust on Sunday that the armed bandits had come to the village to rustle cows but were pushed back by the vigilante.
“They sought for help from their colleagues in the forest, returned in large numbers and overpowered us. They entered the community killing anyone they found. They would set a house ablaze and if you came out to escape, they shot you dead. One woman and her baby were burnt inside her bedroom,” he said.
He said most of the families had fled the communities to the neighbouring Kebbi and Niger states.
The chairman of Anka Local Government, Alhaji Mustapha Gado, who confirmed the attack, said the bodies of the victims were buried when a contingent of soldiers arrived there.
“As I’m talking to you, I have just got information that the armed bandits are regrouping at a place near a village called
Farar Kasa, as they have vowed to attack more communities. We are in a serious trouble as a people,” he said. Farmers Flee Farms
Thousands of hectares of farmlands have not been cleared for farming even as the rainy season kicks in because farmers are afraid of going to the farm, residents told Daily
Trust on Sunday yesterday.
Killings of farmers by the rustlers have sparked panic, forcing many to abandon and move to areas that are peaceful, it was gathered.
The bandits wrote letters to farmers, warning them to keep away from farms or face dire consequences.
Kabiru Iliyasu, a farmer in Zurmi Local Government Area, said farming as business was being seriously threatened by the activities of armed bandits.
“Just last week, I sent some boys to deposit manure at my farm. While there, they spotted armed men approaching on motorbikes. They abandoned the working tools and took to their heels to avoid being killed. As I’m talking to you, no one has gone back to the farm since then,” he said.
In Dansadau district, some of the farmers who spoke with
Daily Trust on Sunday said armed banditry had not only affected farming activities but other business activities.
Last week, Governor Abdulaziz Yari said farmers in the state would not be
Last week, members of Gidan Goda woke up to the sad news of the killing of five people working on the farm that Saturday morning. When the community mobilized to retrieve their corpses later in the evening, the attackers who were lying in wait, opened fire on them, killing 25 people
intimidated despite threats from the armed bandits who threatened to attack farmers.
“We got the information that armed bandits had warned farmers not to go to farms but their threat is empty. We would not be frightened; that is why we procured 25,000 metric tonnes of assorted fertilizer for this year’s wet farming season,” he said.
From Dansadau to everywhere
Last week, members of Gidan Goda woke up to the sad news of the killing of five people working on the farm that Saturday morning. When the community mobilized to retrieve their corpses later in the evening, the attackers who were lying in wait, opened fire on them, killing 25 people.
Police authorities linked the attack to land dispute between two groups.
When the first attack by bandits on a community in the state happened during the Ramadan in 2011, it was blamed on suspected cattle rustlers avenging the killing of their gang members by local vigilante.
In that attack, 10 people were killed in the villages of Guru and Tungar Baushe, just as residents were ending their sahur (pre-dawn Ramadan meal).
Reports had it that vigilante members had killed suspected cattle rustlers who had been robbing their communities with the aim to stop them. Angered by the killings, the rustlers reportedly mobilized and took the fight to communities hosting the vigilante.
Since then, atrocities committed by rustlers have taken a massive human toll that is second only to killings carried out by Boko Haram, experts said.
State government officials and observers believe that extra-judicial executions by vigilante have helped perpetuate the attacks, while local communities uphold the activities of the vigilante as their only shield from the criminals on most occasions.
“For instance, dozens of residents, especially those of Fulani extraction, were executed by the vigilante. There were cases where those calling themselves vigilante invaded settlements and executed suspected thieves before their families. I’m not saying that those being executed are not criminals. The issue is: who conferred powers on the vigilante to arrest and execute criminals? one of the observers with links to the state government said.
“Those who feel that they have been pushed to the wall took up arms and started the senseless killings. For more than six years now, we are struggling with these crises with no end in sight,” he added.
Countering the charge against the vigilante, Senator Sai’du Dansadau said members of the group were only filling a gap created by the inability of the state to protect its citizens.
“Under the 1999 Constitution, it is the primary responsibility of security agents to protect the lives and property of the citizens. It is obvious that in Zamfara State, government and agencies responsible for protecting the lives and property of the people have failed in their responsibility.
“It is on this note that a section of the native inhabitants of Zamfara State decided to form themselves as vigilantes in order to fill the gap created by government’s failure to protect them.
“We all know that without this effort by members of vigilante groups, farming would have been impossible. I thought the state government would commend the efforts of these people who sacrificed their lives, time and energy in order to protect the lives and property of their brothers and sisters,” he said, dismissing the state government’s ban on activities of the local vigilantes.
Attacks, more attacks
The attacks in Guru and Tungun Baushe were followed by attacks in October 2011, in Lingyado, also in Maru Local Government where 23 persons were killed and dozens of houses torched.
Thereafter, the state was gripped by the shocking death of 15 traders in Birnin Magaji Local Government Area who were returning from a local market. The gunmen intercepted a truck conveying the traders in January 2012 and shot them before setting fire to their bodies.
As the state struggled to put the incident behind it, another attack was launched in June 2012, when gunmen killed at least 26 people in Dangulbi village in Maru Local Government Area. Three months later, in September 2012, 20 people were killed in some villages in Gusau Local Government Area, bringing the raids, for the first time, close to the state capital.
As if that was not enough trauma for Maru Local Government, the rustlers hit again shortly after, killing 18 people in Kabaro village.
As that year was coming to an end, they struck again in November 2012 near Dumburum village in Zurmi Local Government Area where they had mounted a checkpoint, killing 10 vigilante members heading to a market. They slashed and pocketed the private parts of their victims before dashing back into the forest.
A lull prevailed throughout half of 2013 until June when the bandits massacred 54 people in Kizara village in Tsafe Local Government. They burnt down grain silos in the attack.
The following year, the biggest casualty of the bandits attack was recorded with the killing of 126 vigilante who were holding a meeting at Yargaladima, 20km from Dansadau.
It is the highest casualty in a single attack by bandits in the state till date.
The killings continued (see infograph) all over the state up to Friday night.
This year alone more than 200 people were killed in at least eight major attacks.