At least 371 people have been killed since January 2018 and dozens of villages sacked in Zamfara State, as armed bandits hold sway in the state Amnesty International AI said. A statement by the Nigeria representative of AI, Isa Sanusi on Tuesday said insecurity was escalating in Zamfara State, with daily killings and kidnappings by armed bandits leaving villagers in constant fear of attacks.
He said thousands of people were displaced by a conflict, which began in 2012 because of the clashes between farmers and herders. Sanusi who released the statement on behalf of the Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Osai Ojigho said authority’s failure to act has left villagers in Zamfara at the mercy of armed bandits, who have killed hundreds of people over the course of two bloody years.
AI said on Friday July 27, 18 villages in the Mashema, Kwashabawa and Birane districts of Zurmi local government area of Zamfara state were attacked, leaving at least 42 people dead.
At least 18,000 residents of the affected villages, who were displaced over the weekend were taking refuge at various locations in the local government headquarters, the following day a further 15 people were kidnapped in Maradun local government area. At least 238 of the killings took place after the deployment of the Nigerian Air Force, the statement added.