Bandits Have Killed Over 3,000 In Zamfara In 5 Years – Yari

The governor of Zamfara state, northern Nigeria, Abdulaziz Yari, says armed bandits have killed 3,526 persons in the state in the last five years.

Naija News reports that the Zamfara state governor made this comment at a town hall meeting in Gusau, the state capital, on Tuesday.

This online news platform understands that the Mohammed Adamu, inspector general of police (IGP), traditional and community leaders, as well as herders and farmers attended the meeting.

Represented at the meeting by Abdullahi Shinkafi, secretary to the state government (SSG), Yari said “nearly 500 villages” have been destroyed by the attackers.

The governor added that “over 13,000 hectares of farmlands were either destroyed or made useless as farmers can no longer use the lands for farming”.

“Nearly 500 villages have also been devastated and 8,219 persons were injured, some are still in critical condition,” he said.

“The economy of the state has seriously suffered because thousands of shops were destroyed by the rampaging bandits who had displaced thousands of our people from their places of abode, many of whom cannot sleep with their two eyes closed because of fear.”

The governor said the government had written volumes of reports containing over 7,000 pages, giving details of the crises right from the beginning to the “infiltration from Libya and Boko Haram”.

He said the government was aware of eight prominent bandits camps at different locations in the state.

Governor Yari said recent suspension of mining activities in the state by the federal government must “be followed by enforcement, because, it is one thing to ban, and another to enforce.”