Zamfara State, Nigeria – Just when you thought things couldn’t get worse in northwestern Nigeria, a bandit gang has reminded everyone why Zamfara now doubles as a real-life survival video game. At least nine people were killed and up to 100 more, including women and children, were reportedly abducted, because in Zamfara, human trafficking is more of a pastime than a crime.
The attack happened Friday, but don’t expect the police to say much; they’ve perfected the art of silence. In the meantime, heavily armed “bandits” roamed freely through the village of Jangebe, knocking on doors not to sell cookies, but to collect hostages like Halloween candy.
According to local lawmaker Hamisu Faru, the attackers didn’t just stop at one or two houses; they conducted a full house-to-house sweep. “As I’m speaking to you right now, they are still searching house-to-house,” Faru told Reuters, sounding more like a war correspondent than a public official.
Gone in 120 Minutes
Witnesses say the siege lasted two hours, two full hours of unchecked terror. No military intervention. No police sirens. Just bandits doing their thing, proving yet again that in Zamfara, criminals have more operational freedom than the actual government.
Among the dead were the head of the village’s vigilante group and five of his comrades, who thought bravery and sticks would be enough against AK-47s. Spoiler: they were not.
Fields of Fear
Farming, once a peaceful livelihood, has now become a high-stakes endeavor. “Everyone is now afraid of going to the farm,” said local resident Bello Ahmadu, who probably now considers every cornstalk a potential ambush site. Farming in Zamfara? That’s like jogging through a minefield while wearing a target on your back.
Bandits’ Hide-and-Seek Headquarters
Where do these marauding gangs retreat after their weekend kidnapping sprees? Deep inside a forest so large it covers parts of Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, and Niger states a leafy no-man’s-land where bullets grow on trees and GPS signals go to die. This green abyss is the perfect hideout for traffickers, gun runners, and anyone allergic to law enforcement.
And what’s the government doing? Well, it has outsourced part of the war on terror to vigilantes and militia groups because when in doubt, hire more guns.
Revenge, Zamfara Style
To their credit, local vigilantes alongside Nigeria’s ever-mysterious secret police recently scored a rare “win” by wiping out about 100 people in a raid on a bandit kingpin’s base. No word on how many of the dead were actual criminals and how many were just victims of Zamfara’s signature justice: shoot first, identify later.
In Conclusion:
Northwestern Nigeria has officially become a lawless frontier, where bandits rule, farmers flee, and citizens must choose between farming, fleeing, or joining a vigilante group. With no meaningful response from federal forces and “bandit” becoming a catch-all term for terror, Zamfara is spiraling and the silence from Abuja is deafening.
