Life is hell in Zamfara; incessant killings by bandits reveal Tinubu’s failure – Amnesty International
Human rights organisation, Amnesty International, on Monday, said incessant “violent attacks and abductions in Zamfara are making life hell for villagers,” revealing President Bola Tinubu’s failure to secure lives and property.
In a statement on Monday, the human rights organisation lamented “the slaughter of 38 people kidnapped by bandits from Banga village of Kauran Namoda LGA.”
The killings, Amnesty International said, “is yet another vivid example of the consistent failure of the Nigerian authorities to end the bloodshed in Zamfara state.”
It added, “For 5-months, the victims were held in an appalling condition in custody of bandits that subjected them to routine torture and other ill-treatment. Their families were left in the anguish of selling everything to raise money for ransom payment.”
According to the rights organisation, no part of Zamfara State has been safe since at least 2018. Across the state, attacks occur daily, with multiple attacks sometimes taking place in a single day, while major highways in the state—linking urban areas and villages—are controlled by bandits.
Lamenting incessant killings and abductions by bandits, Amnesty International said, “In the last two years, over 273 people have been killed and 467 people abducted. Since the beginning of the bloody security crisis, bandits have sacked 481 villages, while 529 villages are under the full control of bandits, across 13 local governments.”
It added, “The people of Zamfara state continue to pay the price of the Nigerian government’s utter failure and disregard with their lives.”
Mr Tinubu’s government is yet to make an official statement on the latest killings in Zamfara State.
Last Wednesday, some communities in Ruwan Bore Ward, Gusau LGA of Zamfara staged a peaceful protest over the incessant attacks by armed bandits.
The protesters, who took their protest to the Government House in Gusau, were from the Ruwan Bore, Mada, Wonaka, Fegin-Mahe, Kanawa, and Tudun Wada communities.
