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Tag: Zamfara killings

  • Air Force deploys massive air assets over Zamfara killings

    The Nigerian Air Force on Thursday said arrangements have been concluded for massive deployment of aircraft and other platforms to Sokoto, Zamfara and Katsina states to end the spate of bandit attacks, cattle rustlings and other criminal activities in the Northwest region.

    The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, disclosed this during on-the-spot assessments of the troubled areas.

    He said the security situation in the region require fashioning a new response strategy that would restore peace and orderliness within the shortest period.

    He said 18 new aircraft have been acquired by the present leadership to respond to the security challenges across the country.

    In the next 16 months, he stated the NAF expect another set of 18 new ones.

    He added that 13 additional aircraft have been rehabilitated and made serviceable for operations.

    Abubakar, who also visited the governors of the three states, commended them for their support for the Armed Forces in tackling security challenges.

    He noted the security agencies however need intelligence information from the locals to track down the bandits and other criminals within the area.

    According to a statement by the NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, the Air Chief also inspected the Sultan Abubakar III Airport in Sokoto and other platforms upon which to launch operations against the bandits.”

    Daramola quoted the Air Force Chief as saying that he was in the zone to assess the situation with a view to evolving strategies and emplacing more effective structures and air assets in support of the operations to deal with the threat.

    He also added Abubakar had visited HQ ATF OPDM which also served as the Air Component of Operation Sharan Daji (OPSD) and would also visit the NAF 119 Forward Operating Base (119 FOB) Sokoto with a view to upgrading facilities to enable the conduct of air operations from Sokoto, for enhanced NAF response capability in dealing more decisive blows on the armed bandits

    The governors expressed appreciation for the visit, noting security agencies had been doing their best to curtail the activities of the armed bandits in the region, especially since the commencement of OPDM and the recent Operation 777 under OPSD.

    According to them, however, it appeared the armed bandits were reacting to the tremendous successes of the operations by launching a fresh wave of attacks against innocent civilians, regretting that as a result, killings and kidnappings had become daily affairs.

  • Violent protest rocks Zamfara over killings

     

     

    Some protesters in Zamfara State, including Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), on Monday staged a violent protest against incessant killings by bandits.

    The aggrieved blocked Gusau – Funtua – Zaria road leaving commuters going to Zaria, Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto and Kebbi states stranded.

    The demonstrators also set ablaze the secretariat of Tsafe Local Government Area and burnt down 18 motor vehicles and motorbikes.

    They asked the Federal Government to put an end to the orgy of killings of innocent villagers.

    But mobile policemen have been drafted to restore normalcy.

    Although the protest was initially peaceful, it was hijacked by some irate youths.

    The Chairman of the local government Alhaji Aliyu Abubakar said:  “These thugs must have been motivated by mischievous politicians who feel that they must always be in control or they will not allow peace to reign.

    “We have recently bought some cars and motorcycles which we intend to distribute to the citizens of the area under our empowerment programme and all these have been raised to ashes including some private properties.”

    He said the local government will raise a team to “investigate the matter and anyone found wanting especially the sponsors would be made to face the full wrath of the law.

    Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mohammed Shehu said the State Police Command had curtailed the violence.

    He confirmed the deployment of 1 1/2 Units of PMF/CTU,  police personnel  and Special Forces to Tsafe to protect lives and properties..

    He said: “We have restored normalcy to Tsafe and its environs.

    “The police and other security Agencies are in total control of the situation with rigorous patrol, stop and search and continuous raiding of identified criminal hideouts ongoing.

    “The  Commissioner of Police Zamfara State Command  Usman A. Belel along with the Brigade Commander and other Heads of Security Agencies Visited Tsafe in the early hours of to assess the security situation and ensure total regards to law and order.

    “The Command appeals for continued support and cooperation from members of the public by giving the police and other security agencies timely information on activities of disgruntled elements in the state for prompt action.”

     

     

  • 371 people killed in Zamfara – Amnesty Intl

    Amnesty International said on Tuesday that at least 371 people have been killed in Zamfara since January.

    The rights watchdog said thousands of people have been displaced by conflict between farmers and herdsmen in the state.

    Amnesty said in a statement signed by its Media Manager in Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, that insecurity is escalating in Zamfara with daily killings and kidnappings by armed bandits.

    “Insecurity is escalating in Nigeria’s North West state of Zamfara with daily killings and kidnappings by armed bandits leaving villagers in constant fear of attack.

    “Thousands of people have been displaced by a conflict which began in 2012 as a result of clashes between farmers and herders.

    “This is Nigeria’s forgotten conflict. The authorities’ 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.

    “When we visited the region, villagers told us that they had pleaded with the government to help them after receiving warning letters from the bandits ahead of attacks but had received no protection. The Nigerian authorities have repeatedly claimed to be tackling the situation, but the mounting death toll tells a different story.

    “On Friday, 27 July, 2018, 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 are now taking refuge at various locations in the local government headquarters. The following day a further 15 people were kidnapped in Maradun local government area of the state.

    “On Saturday 28 July, President Muhammadu Buhari announced the deployment of 1,000 troops to Zamfara. This is the third time since November 2017 that the authorities have deployed the military in response to attacks, but villagers told Amnesty International that this has not translated into protection for remote and vulnerable communities,” the Director of Amnesty International, Nigeria, Osai Ojigho, said.

     

     

     

  • Gov Yari berates minister over comment on Zamfara killings

    Governor Abdullaziz Yari of Zamfara State yesterday accused Interior Minister  Abdurrahaman Dambazau of buck passing over the spate of banditry in the state which has claimed dozens of lives in the last few months.

    He branded  Thursday’s comment by Dambazau that poor governance was responsible for the persistent insecurity in the state as blackmail.

    Yari spoke on a day the Senator representing Zamfara Central, Alhaji  Kabir Garba Marafa, said the minister’s  position was a vindication of his own earlier outcry  of alleged  failure   of the Governor to stop banditry in the state.

    Marafa who is the  Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) said his numerous calls on the governor at different fora to rise deal with the problem  fell on deaf ears such that the governor tagged him an enemy.

    Yari,in a statement through his spokesman, Ibrahim Dosara,  said it “is totally misleading and insulting to the intelligence of Nigerians to blame a state governor for the failure of security when he has no power and control over the deployment of troops to fight the bandits and protect lives.”

    He said:”Is the minister’s refusal to visit Zamfara as minister of interior who is in charge of internal security, to assess the situation there, listen to and address the complaints by the junior security personnel, sympathize with the people of Zamfara State and offer professional advice that is good governance?

    “Is the minister’s inability to control the infiltration or influx of foreign agents with evil intentions into the country, paving ways for criminality, that is good governance?

    “Or is it keeping soldiers with him cleaning his shoes instead of sending them to the front line that is good governance?” the statement quipped.

    Yari wondered why a general, a member of the  national security council, a federal cabinet member and a former  chief of army staff, would engage in buck passing and scape-goating at a time the people of Zamfara State are desperately looking for decisive action from the federal government.

    Dambazau  had said of the governor “good governance is the final solution to the security challenges in Zamfara State. It is not the number of soldiers.

    “It is not good governance for the governor of Zamfara State to say he is withdrawing as Chief Security Officer. Even if he is given all the soldiers in the world, he can’t use those forces to deal with those issues.”

    Marafa in his own statement said: “Zamfara State is our only state we must therefore put all hands on deck to make it work. “Like the Federal Government, I have faulted the Governor’s halfhearted approach to the problem of banditry that had grounded almost all activities in the state.”

    He said the first step to end the banditry was for the governor to show courage by bringing those around him that are accused of having a hand in the “business” to book.

    While the second and most important one is taking his job serious by stopping  without further delay all his regular trips to Abuja and outside the country and concentrate on providing the much needed leadership in the state.

    The senator asked  the governor to stop blaming Buhari for his failures. “He should discard the secondary responsibility of Governors Forum Chair and concentrate on his primary responsibility of providing security of lives and property of the people of the state.”

    “If he remains an absentee Governor, there is no how he can tackle the menace of banditry in the state. It is only when he is on ground that other things can take shape for the good of the state.”

  • Zamfara killings: Gov. Yari gives security agents ‘kill on sight’ order

    Gov. Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State yesterday directed security agents to shoot and kill anyone caught carrying firearms in the state.

    Yari gave the order in Anka when he visited the emir to condole with the emirate over the killing of over 30 persons by gunmen in Bawan Daji village of Anka council area of the state.

    He said:  “This is an order from the president and from the governor of the state.”

    According to him, “we cannot continue to watch criminals as a parallel government, doing what they want and carrying sophisticated firearms, maiming and killing innocent citizens in the state.”

    The governor further directed for the disbandment of five communities and the removal of the village and district heads of the affected communities in the emirate with immediate effect as they were accused of harbouring bandits.

    He said that any person or group found associating with bandits should also not be spared but treated as the firearms carriers and bandits.

    Responding, the Emir of Anka, Alhaji Attahiru Ahmad said “we need more security personnel who are also committed to carry out their responsibility effectively.

    The emir reiterated that the people had no problem of herders/farmers clashes at the moment.

    “What we are facing is armed banditry by trigger happy criminals who attack innocent rural dwellers and steal their cash and property, “ he said.

    It must be recalled that Bawan Daji village was attacked by bandits for two consecutive days, (last Tuesday and Wednesday)  killing over 30 people.

  • Zamfara killings: Commissioner blames security agencies

    The Zamfara State Commissioner for Commerce, Industries and Investment, Ahmed Maradun, has blamed security agencies for the worsening security situation in the state.

    Maradun spoke when the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Security Infrastructure visited Zamfara.

    A committee member said Maradun spoke when the committee visit the Emir of Maradun.

    Maradun said: “The Federal Government ordered these security agencies to protect the people. The governor, as the chief security officer, is also empowered to give them orders, but when they refuse to take such orders what should he do?

    “Let me go personal with you, there was a time the security agencies were told there would be an attack on one community but despite the tip off, none of them made attempts to counter that attack; so many people were killed.

    “Also, you would have learnt that the President ordered the deployment of some of them. If you must know, they are just there and their presence is not felt. Whenever you give them information about an attack, they always reply that they have not received any order and cannot act. In fact, I think there may be a deliberate plot by these security agencies to undermine the powers of the President.

    “Then again, they talk about not having personnel and equipment, but they have enough to deploy in Benue State because they have the loudest voice; they have enough to deploy in the Niger Delta because there is oil there? I don’t believe in that.

    “As far as I know, the state government is spending a lot on security. Then if you know you cannot guarantee the protection of life and property, why do you take our money and why do you continue to take it.

    “Why do they take our money if they cannot do anything? I think they should return our money.”

     

  • Zamfara killings: PDP bemoans daily massacre of Nigerians, calls for prayers.

    Zamfara killings: PDP bemoans daily massacre of Nigerians, calls for prayers.

    The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is displeased by what it terms the gruesome murder of 41 Nigerians by marauders in Zamfara State.

    It wants Nigerians to join forces in praying for the nation.

    The party, in a statement yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, in Abuja urged the All Progressives Congress (APC)-controlled Federal Government to take decisive steps to end the incessant killings in various parts of the country.

    He said it was heartbreaking that Nigerians were daily slaughtered by marauders.

    “In the last two months, hundreds of helpless citizens have been murdered by bandits in various parts of the country,” he said.

    “Hardly have tears dried over the gruesome killings in Benue, Taraba, Kaduna, Nasarawa and other states when marauders hit Zamfara, a state known for peace, killing 41 citizens in cold blood.

    “Nigerians now live defenceless and in perpetual fear; our people are fast losing confidence in our institutions.

    “As we speak, citizens are now sourcing their own security as APC-controlled Federal Government daily manifest crass indifference to the protection of our people.’’

    He said that the PDP stood with all citizens across the nation and share in their pains at this critical time.

    The party spokesman asked  all Nigerians, irrespective of their religion, ethnicity and political affiliation, as well as all people of goodwill across the world, to join forces in praying for the nation.

     

     

  • PDP condemns Zamfara killings, calls for prayers

    PDP condemns Zamfara killings, calls for prayers

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Saturday condemned the gruesome murder of 41 Nigerians by marauders in Zamfara State and urged Nigerians to join forces in praying for the nation.

    The party in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in Abuja, urged the Federal Government to take decisive steps to end the incessant killings in various parts of the country.

    PDP said it was heartbreaking that Nigerians were daily slaughtered by marauders.

    The party said: “In the last two months, hundreds of helpless citizens have been murdered by bandits in various parts of the country.

    “Hardly have tears dried over the gruesome killings in Benue, Taraba, Kaduna, Nasarawa and other states when marauders hit Zamfara, a state known for peace, killing 41 citizens in cold blood.

    “Nigerians now live defenceless and in perpetual fear. Our people are fast losing confidence in our institutions.

    “As we speak, citizens are now sourcing their own security as APC-controlled Federal Government daily manifest crass indifference to the protection of our people.”

    According to the statement, the PDP stood with all citizens across the nation and share in their pains at this critical time.

    The party implored Nigerians, irrespective of their religion, ethnicity and political affiliation, as well as all people of goodwill across the world, to join forces in praying for the nation.

    It also urged Nigerians to support the government and one another at this critical time for the nation.

    “We call on the APC-controlled Federal Government to seek help from Nigerians who can assist in our current situation.

    “Our people have witnessed enough bloodletting and we must collectively find an end to the carnage.

    “The PDP commiserates with the families of those killed in Zamfara and other states and pray God to grant us peace and all round protection in our country,’’ the statement added.

    NAN

     

  • Zamfara killings: Buhari orders Defence minister to Gusau

    Zamfara killings: Buhari orders Defence minister to Gusau

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday directed the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan Ali (retd), to proceed to Zamfara State immediately for on the spot assessment of Thursday’s massacre of 18 persons in Birane village, Zurmi local government area of the state.

    The President also directed security agencies to immediately mobilise and deploy operatives to the vulnerable areas of the state and ensure that perpetrators of the act are brought to face the full wrath of the law.

    He described the attack as heinous and inhuman.

    President Buhari commiserated with the families of the victims, according to the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.

    The President assured the Zamfara State government and residents of  the state, that the Federal Government would  continue do all within its power to support security agencies to secure lives and property, not only in the Zamfara but all parts of the country.

    President Buhari restated his administration’s determination to put an end to the spate of senseless spilling of innocent blood in parts of the country and called for restraint to allow the nation’s security apparatus to stem the undesirable trend.

    He prayed that God would receive the souls of the departed and comfort their families.

     

     

  • Zamfara killings

    Zamfara killings

    •The Federal Government should step in and get to the bottom of it

    The report of attacks by gunmen in several communities in Zamfara State should worry our security agencies. While Zamfara has been occasionally volatile arising from religious extremism, the state will descend into anarchy if armed insurgency is added to the mix. Our heightened worry is based on the claim that the villages were attacked by hoodlums whose motive remains unknown. According to the member representing Zurmi West in the state house of assembly, Alhaji Yusuf Moriki, “So far, we have the record of 25 people who were killed during the attack, while many injured others have been taken to hospital for treatment,”
    The killings took place last week in Dole, Tudun Bugaje and Kwangwami communities in Zurmi Local Government Area of the state, after a similar attack in Shinkafi Local Government Area, the previous day. Reporting on the incident however, the Force Public Relations Officer, Dan Awunah, claimed that only nine persons, made up of two policemen and seven villagers were killed. He also assured the public that the Police Mobile Force and the counter-terrorism unit have been deployed in the area to restore law and order.
    We commiserate with the families of those that lost their lives and their properties.
    While we commend the police for their intervention to restore calm, we are concerned that no mention was made of the group responsible for the attack, or their motive for invading the rural communities. Considering that there was police presence prior to the attack, since two policemen were also killed, we thought police intelligence would have such information. For, there are indeed many questions begging for answers, and unless the police quickly provide those answers, the communities and those around them would live in fear and uncertainty.
    One question that should worry the authorities is where did the hoodlums come from? Are they Nigerians and if they are, what is their motive for attacking the rural communities? If they are not Nigerians, where did they come from? Could they be among the so called cattle rustlers that have made rural life unbearable in many communities across the north? While dealing with the emergency, what plans have the political and security agencies put in place to secure the communities?
    Considering that Nigeria is blessed with expansive land mass, particularly in the northern part, is there a comprehensive security plan to secure the territorial integrity of the country from these attacks? For us, it is important that the North West is not allowed to become a vast swath of lawlessness just like the case in the North East. As we all are witnesses, our sagging economy has not been helped by the insurgency in the North East. So every effort must be made to nip in the bud cases of attacks anywhere in the country.
    Perhaps the Zamfara killings are one more reason to encourage state police, to complement the federal police. No doubt our country is blessed with a huge land mass, which also provides a huge policing challenge for our federal police authority. With limited resources available to the single police force, coupled with sometimes operating in strange environments, the federal police is most times hamstrung to efficiently maintain law and order.
    As poverty is ravaging the rural communities across the country, the local, state and federal authorities must do what is necessary to secure the lives and properties of the local communities. The lives lost in Zamfara are a further impetus for those in authority, particularly the Federal Government, to wake up to the huge security challenges across the country.