The streets of Gusau, the capital of Zamfara state is presently an abode for married women and their children who roam every nook and cranny begging people and commuters from morning till evening just to get some money with which to feed themselves and their vulnerable children. SANUSI MUHAMMAD reports.
Blueprint investigation reveals that majority of these vulnerable people were forced to left their ancestral homes as a result of rampant attacks by the dreaded group of armed bandits who had terrorised the state for over six years now. Investigation shows that many of the women fled to Gusau for safety from their respective local government councils of Shinkafi, Maru, Tsafe, Bungudu, Zurmi, Birnin Magaji and Anka where armed banditry has been the order of the day.
Reports further indicated that majority of them had lost their loved ones and were rendered homeless as a result of the attacks, a situation which forced them to have no option than to live their ancestral homes in order to save their lives.
The statistics
In Shinkafi local government council, for example, in early March, it was reported that over 100 people lost their lives in simultaneous attacks by bandits on communities of Kurya, Kwaren Shinkafi, Dolen Moriki, to mentioned but a few.
In the same month, the bandits launched fresh attack on communities of Kawaye district in Anka local government killing 16 persons and kidnapped 39 including the district head and his wife.
Another set of bandits besieged the community of Danjibga village in Tsafe local government area of the state and killed over 20 people in the same week.
In an interactive session with journalists last year, the 2019 governorship aspirant on the platform of National Rescue Movement (NRM) in the state, Senator Saidu Dansadau said about 3,000 persons were killed in by bandits between 2016/2018 with over N1.2 billion paid as ransom to secure the release of residents abducted during the period. He added that 682 villages and towns were sacked by the bandits thereby causing residents to flee to neighbouring states of Katsina, Sokoto and Kebbi. This is just as 2,706 farms were also destroyed, 13,838 cattle, and 11,088 sheep and goats equally looted.
Reeling out the statistics, Dansadau said of the 682 villages and towns destroyed and deserted, residents were only able to return to 374 of them because of the intensity of the crimes. He said the bandits during the period under review stole motorcycles totalling 2,244, respectively.
In an interview with Blueprint, a female victim identified as Maimuna Lawali of Maijiro village in Wonaka district of Gusau local government area said over 100 hundred of them and their children were forced to flee to Gusau from their village just to save their lives from the multiple attacks by the bandits.
According to her, the bandits set their food crops ablaze which was deposited mainly in their local silos and raped many women during the attacks, adding that she lost two of her brothers during the attacks. When asked to comment on the where-about of her husband, Maimuna said she doed not know where her husband was as at the time of filing this report, saying she is living together with her six children.
“They have killed many of our husbands, we have no food to eat, no house to sleep and we have no options than to enter the street to beg for something to carter for our lives and that of our vulnerable children,” Maimuna said.
Also revealing her ordeal, in an interview, another woman identified as Huraira Salisu from Akuzo village of Gusami district in Birnin Magaji local government who is currently residing in Tsunami area in Gusau, she said she has six children but lost five of her relatives to armed bandits, stressing that she had spent over 40 days with her children in Gusau, struggling to survive through begging without knowing whereabout of her husband.
According to her, majority of them were residing in an open place at Tsunami area in Gusau. She noted further that majority of their children are now suffering from malnutrition and malaria syndrome while at the same time calling on the federal, state, local governments and wealthy individual to come to their aid as quickly as possible.
In an interview, another victim identified as Malam Shafi’u Gidan Juli from Gusami district of Birnin Magaji local government area said he has two wives and 10 children, but said that they relocated to Tsunami area in Gusau for over 40 days without food to feed his family.
He said they were over 200 who fled their ancestral homes and relocated to Tsunami. He lamented that since then no assistance has come from the state, federal or local governments for them. He therefore called on relevant government agency to come to their aid so that they can return to their domain in safety.
“Majority of us went to Gusau town to beg for what to eat. We need urgent and serious assistance from all relevant authorities and well to do individuals for us to survive, ” Malam Shafi’u noted.
Also in an interview with Blueprint, Malam Muhammad Nasiru of Gusami Hayi village in Birnin Magaji local government said he has two wives, 11 children including his aged mother who left their home to Tsunami area in Gusau as a result of the bandits attacks, saying he lost eight of his relatives to bandits attacks.
Blueprint gathered that Tsunami area in Gusau has became the place were victims of armed banditry are seeking refuge. Investigation reveals that over 15,000 victims are currently living in the area.
Zamfara state has 14 local governments and 147 wards but report indicates that no emergency management presence from either the federal, state or local governments is on ground to help these helpless individuals.
Some victims have returned to their homes – Military
In a related development, Over 5 ,000 internally displaced persons have returned to their villages in Zamfara following the clearance operation conducted by the military against bandits terrorising communities in the state in July last year.
The outgoing Force Commander of the operation, Major General Muhammad Muhammad stated this while speaking with journalists shortly after handing over the command to his successor, Major General Stevenson Olabanji in Gusau, the state capital.
Major General Muhammad said residents displaced by bandits especially around Galadi, Kwaddi and Katuru villages in Zurmi and Shinkafi local government areas of the state were back home safely.
The development followed the directive given to security agencies by Governor Abdulaziz Yari in August last year during security meeting for an immediate return of IDPs to their various ancestral homes during a security meeting at the Government House in Gusau.