Amnesty International Nigeria has called on the Nigerian authorities to “take concrete steps to end gunmen’s grip on Zamfara State”.
The Nigerian government’s “security failure” has led to “more villages being raised by gunmen, people abducted for ransom”, and this has made it difficult for villagers to live a “normal life” and go to their farms.
The global movement that campaigns for the end to abuse of human rights said, attacks happen in Zamfara State “daily”.
It disclosed, more than “273 people” have been killed and “467 people” abducted in the “last two years”.
According to Amnesty International Nigeria on X: “Zamfara: Escalating Bloodshed
“The Nigerian authorities must take concrete steps to end gunmen’s grip on Zamfara state.
“The people of Zamfara state continue to pay the price of the government’s security failure with their lives. More villages are raided by gunmen, people abducted for ransom, making it difficult for villagers to live a normal life and cultivate their farms.
“There are daily burials of victims of violent attacks in many parts of the state. This is Nigeria’s forgotten conflict. President Bola Tinubu’s administration has failed the people of Zamfara state.
“Across Zamfara state, attacks occur daily, with multiple attacks sometimes taking place in a single day. Residents of villages in Zamfara states told Amnesty International that gunmen also impose levies on them via phone calls, with the warning that failure to pay by a given deadline will be punished with death. Military interventions and deployments have failed to end the killings.
“In Zamfara state, attacks have occurred daily, with multiple attacks sometimes taking place in a single day. 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 control of bandits, across 13 local governments of Zamfara state.
“On 24 June, gunmen slaughtered 9 people at Wanke district. Thousands of women and children displaced by rampant attacks are taking refuge at various locations in Gusau — and in neighboring states and beyond, surviving on begging for food.
“The crisis in Zamfara is making life hell for villagers, and it is clearly not on the list of government priorities. Out of the 14 local governments of Zamfara state, 13 local governments have faced escalating attacks. Many of the major high ways in Zamfara state are controlled by gunmen.
“The authorities’ failure to act has left villagers in Zamfara at the mercy of armed bandits, who continue to kill people daily.”
