By Samuel Olusegun Precious
At least 20 people have been killed following a fresh wave of violent assaults by armed bandits across farming communities in Zamfara State, in what local officials describe as a calculated attempt to disrupt agricultural activities this planting season.
The latest assault occurred on Wednesday afternoon, as a large gang of heavily armed gunmen invaded rural villages, shooting indiscriminately at residents and farmers working on their lands.
The killings follow a string of bloody incursions in the region, including an attack on June 12 in Goron Namaye village, Maradun Local Government Area, where 17 farmers were killed and several others injured while clearing their fields for the rainy season.
Speaking on the tragedy, the Chairman of Maradun Local Government Area, Sanusi Dosara, condemned the acts as “filthy operations aimed at disrupting 2026 farming activities.” He urgently appealed to federal security forces to launch a decisive operation to dismantle the Bayan-Ruwa forest enclave, a known hideout for the bandits.
Following mass burials for the victims, outraged residents blocked major highways in protest, demanding immediate troop deployments to safeguard their lives and lands.
Security experts and human rights organizations have warned that banditry in the North-West has evolved from cattle rustling and kidnapping into systematic extortion. Criminal gangs now routinely demand exorbitant “protection fees” from rural communities before allowing them access to their farms.
Human rights group Amnesty International condemned the ongoing bloodshed, warning that “farming in Zamfara State is now a matter of life and death” and calling on the government to bolster protection for rural communities.
The persistent insecurity threatens to deepen economic hardship across the region. Financial institutions and economic analysts, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), have cautioned that uninterrupted attacks on agricultural hubs will severely aggravate national food insecurity and heighten poverty levels across Nigeria.
