MUHAMMAD SABIU writes on the frustration and fears of Zamfara residents following renewed attacks by bandits after the obvious collapse of the peace talks between government and the bandits.
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For six months, Zamfara State enjoyed relative peace following a truce reached between the state government and marauding bandits who traversed communities killing, maiming and robbing people of their belongings. The agreement, therefore, between the state government and the bandits culminated in a ceasefire which led to the restoration of peace across the state.
The state, it will be recalled, was bedeviled with incessant killings perpetrated by the bandits resulting in both individual and communal losses. For the victims of these attacks, respite appeared only imaginable. According to the summary of the report released by the former Inspector General of Police, Muhammad Abubakar who headed a committee which assessed the level of destruction and losses perpetrated by the bandits, over 5,000 people were killed in the last ten years. The report also indicated that over 6,000 women and children became widows and orphans, while over 5,000 women, including young girls were raped.
Also, it said within the period under review, over 20, 000 people were displaced and a staggering sum of N3billion was paid as ransom for those kidnapped and rescued. The committee also indicted five emirs who allegedly compromised their positions. Also indicted were 10 soldiers, some policemen, civil servants and other security personnel. Part of the report recommended that all those indicted should be punished so as to serve as a lesson to others.
Since his assumption of office, the state governor, Mohammed Matawalle resolved to end the killings and restore peace. He believed meeting with the bandits was the best approach to end the mayhem. He met with them and eventually a peace agreement was reached.
Explaining the peace agreement, the Director General, Press Affairs, Government House Gusau, Yusuf Gusau, said the bandits agreed to embrace peace. He also said the bandits agreed to lay down their arms as well as release all the kidnapped people in their custody to the state government. “To God be the glory, the bandits kept to their promise and released over 400 people who have since reunited with their families,” he declared.
During the celebration of his 100 days in office in August in a state broadcast, the governor informed citizens that peace had returned to the state, urging everyone to sheathe their swords so that meaningful development would take place.
The governor also disclosed that most of the displaced persons had returned to their homes, assuring of his government’s resolve to sustain the peaceful resolution reached with the bandits.
Indeed, the breach of the peace deal after six months took the state government and its people by surprise. Investigations by the Nigerian Tribune revealed that the recent attacks started on November 3 when some members of the local vigilance group otherwise known as ‘Yan Sakai’ in Barkodi village attacked and killed nine Fulani men on the suspicion that they were bandits.
According to the police image maker in the state, DSP Shehu Abubakar, on receiving the report, the command arrested 11 members of the vigilance group who were said to be involved in the killings. The incident, it was learnt, is currently being investigated while those involved will be charged to court for prosecution. The police, it was further gathered, deployed some of its men in the area to trail others who could have a hand in the brutal killings of the Fulani men but had escaped.
Thus, just when the police were about to get to the bottom of the attack at Barkodi village, the bandits struck, killing scores in innocent people and burning several houses at Karaye village of Gummi Local Government Area.
A source who pleaded for anonymity disclosed that on Sunday, November 17, bandits blocked the Sokoro route from Zamfara, preventing and delaying commuters from travelling through the stretch. According to the source, “even though they did not rob any passenger of their belongings, their presence was an indication that they were up to something.”
On Monday, November 18, it was gathered that the bandits attacked Karaye village in Gummi Local Government Area of the state killing 22 people even though the police had confirmed that only 14 people were killed and 10 others injured. The police report had also indicated that the attack was the first major breach of the peace agreement reached between the bandits and the state government.
A survivor of the attack who pleaded for anonymity said “the bandits, on motorcycles, stormed the village in the morning when the villagers were at home. They held AK-47 rifles and offensive weapons and circled the village so that nobody would escape. They started attacking the villagers in their houses and shooting sporadically on those of us who were trying to escape. They killed over twenty people in the mayhem.”
It was also gathered that the bandits looted and set ablaze several houses, forcing the survivors to desert the village. Even though normalcy has returned to the village, many of the villagers have refused to go back to the village. Indeed, many citizens have expressed worry over the recent attacks, calling on the state government to take a deeper look at the peace agreement reached with the bandits in order to know where the problem is.
The state chairman of Zamfara Youth Forum, (ZYF), Abba Muhammad argued that the peace attained in the state was being threatened by the recent attacks. According to him, “there is a strong indication that something is wrong.” He therefore called on the governor to meet with the bandits again in order to find out why they attacked these communities in spite of the peace deal.
However, a member of the Zamfara circle, another pressure group who pleaded for anonymity, urged the state governor to implement the recommendations of the former IGP’s committee with immediate effect, saying “that is the only way the governor will show that he is serious about ending the security challenge facing the state.
“The committee has called for the dismissal of some traditional rulers and the prosecution of some security personnel as well as some civil servants who were compromised in the discharge of their duty.”
For Abubakar Awwal, a political stakeholder, the recent attacks were an attempt to continue to politicise the security challenge facing the state. According to him, the killings going on were politically motivated and unless those saddled with the responsibility of ending the mayhem put the fear of God in their minds, the problem would continue unabated.
A security expert who would not like to be mentioned, faulted the peace process, saying “you don’t dialogue with criminals because the moment you don’t give them what they want they return to their evil ways.”
“I thought the Federal Government, in collaboration with the state would fight these bandits like they did with the Boko Haram insurgents. We saw the sealing of the peace deal but we have not seen these bandits surrendering their arms. This is a very serious issue. Unless the disarmament process is taken seriously, we might not see the end of it (banditry) in recent times.”
Meanwhile, Governor Matawalle has condemned the recent attack describing it as a setback to the peace being enjoyed in recent times. He also said his government would not condone any act of sabotage from any person no matter his social standing. The governor reiterated that his administration would not condone any form of bloodletting in the state because some people felt they could take laws into their hands.
He noted that the appropriate security agencies have been saddled with the responsibility to handle any form of dispute however serious such an issue is. He also charged all communities in the state to continue to be vigilant and alert the nearest security agencies to respond to any suspicious movement for prompt action. Matawalle also called on criminal elements yet to embrace the peace initiative to do so as government would not take it lightly with anybody found wanting. He equally constituted a high-powered delegation under the leadership of the deputy governor, Mahdi Gusau, to visit the affected communities, condole families of the deceased, sympathise with the wounded and present relief materials to them on behalf of the state government.
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Source: https://tribuneonlineng.com/no-longer-at-ease-how-bandits-unleashed-mayhem-on-zamfara-community-six-months-after-ceasefire/
