Nine farmers were killed on Friday in Zamfara state by a criminal gang, according to a state official and two residents.
According to the sources, motorcycle-riding “bandits” kidnapped 15 farmers outside Jangebe village in Talata Mafara district and rounded up a group of farmers working on their fields.
In spite of poverty and the government’s neglect, armed gangs have spread to Nigeria’s rural hinterlands. They rob, loot, and burn villages, exact taxes, and carry out ransom kidnappings.
According to Talata Mafara district political administrator Yahaya Yari Abubakar, “bandits attacked the farmers and killed nine of them.”
Abubakar, who was present at the nine killed’s funeral, said, “The attackers kidnapped around 15 other farmers, and they are still in contact.”
According to Abu Zaki, a Jangebe resident, the village’s vigilante self-defence group’s leader and his five comprades, along with three residents, were among the victims.
Bello Ahmadu, a second resident, said the same number of people are now afraid to visit the farm because they fear being attacked.
More than 300 girls were kidnapped in the village in 2021 as a result of the widespread abduction of the girls.
Following the release of the girls, authorities demanded a ransom.
In an unrest that started as a result of disputes between herders and farmers over land and resources, bandits have established camps in a vast forest that borders Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, and Niger states.
The situation has gotten worse and the criminal gangs’ cooperation has gotten worse, with jihadists who are currently waging a separate, 16-year-old-armed insurrection in the northeast.
In order to assist the military in battling the gangs, Zamfara’s state government has recruited vigilantes and anti-jihadist militias.
Source: Channels TV
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