The community is fleeing in Zamfara.

In Nigeria, armed bandits are intensifying their attacks on the towns of Jangebe and Magazu in Zamfara State, abducting people for ransom, committing murders, and destroying community property.

 

The situation in the town of Jangebe and at least five of its surrounding villages in the Talatar Mafara local government area of Zamfara State has worsened.

 

According to a local resident who wished to remain anonymous, from Tuesday to Wednesday, five to six villages in Jangebe were plunged into a spree of killings.

 

The resident noted that there had been a reduction in such incidents in the past, but recently, the situation has resurfaced in the southern Talatar Mafara area, and the people from the villages in the region are pleading for assistance from both the federal and state governments.

In the town of Magazu, in the Tsafe local government area, the severity of the bandits' attacks is also escalating, as another person, who chose to remain unnamed, reported.

 

“There was a period of calm, but now the situation has worsened unexpectedly. Just on Wednesday, they entered Magazu, abducting married women and young girls, leading to many families fleeing the town to escape the violence."

 

This individual also mentioned that at the beginning of Ramadan, the bandits conducted house-to-house raids, resulting in a ransom of 4.3 million Naira being paid. Despite this, after releasing the women, the bandits returned within days to abduct more people.

 

The state government attributes these actions to the pressure from security forces' ground and aerial raids on the bandits' hideouts.

 

Sulaiman Bala Idris, the spokesperson for the Governor of Zamfara State, mentioned that these attacks are acts of vengeance. "Recently, many of their leaders have been killed, and security forces are continuing to launch successful attacks against them, leading to these retaliatory attacks on villages, killing people to provoke the community."

 

Sulaiman Bala mentioned ongoing discussions led by Nuhu Ribadu, the security advisor to the President, with governors from the North to find solutions.

 

This initiative is seen as a hopeful sign, not only for the people of Zamfara State but also for others in the northwest region of Nigeria, who are keenly awaiting tangible results in tackling the security challenges.