ZAMFARA: Gov Yari says bandits killed over 3000, destroyed 500 villages in five years

Zamfara state governor, Abdulaziz Yari, has announced that a total of 3,526 persons in the state have been killed by bandits in the last five years.

This announcement was made during a town hall meeting held in Gusau, the state capital, on Tuesday.

Present at the meeting was the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, traditional and community leaders, as well as herders and farmers.

The governor, who was represented by secretary to the state government (SSG), Abdullahi Shinkafi, also revealed that “nearly 500 villages” have been destroyed by the attackers.

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In addition, “over 13,000 hectares of farmlands were either destroyed or made useless as farmers can no longer use the lands for farming.

“Nearly 500 villages have also been devastated and 8,219 persons were injured, some are still in critical condition,” he said.

“The economy of the state has seriously suffered because thousands of shops were destroyed by the rampaging bandits who had displaced thousands of our people from their places of abode, many of whom cannot sleep with their two eyes closed because of fear,” he added.

Yari also said the government had written volumes of reports containing over 7,000 pages, giving details of the crises right from the beginning to the “infiltration from Libya and Boko Haram”.

He noted that the government was aware of eight prominent bandits camps at different locations in the state.

Commenting on the recent suspension of mining activities in the state by the federal government, Yari said it must “be followed by enforcement, because, it is one thing to ban, and another to enforce.”

The IGP while addressing the people, assured that the police would take more proactive measures in the fight against bandits and commended the state government for providing “enabling environment” to security personnel to operate in the state.

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