Banditry Impedes Farming in Zamfara Communities
By Kasim Isa Muhammad
Kanempress
25th July 2023
In the Dansadau Emirate of Maru Local Government Area in Zamfara State, rising banditry has hindered farming activities in several villages, including Ruwantofa, Yansawayu, Malele, Maigoge, Zama Lafiya, and Mai Awaki.
The affected locals attribute the escalating violence to extortion, illegal taxes, and the alleged complicity of traditional rulers while adding that despite purported dialogues and payments made to the bandits through the emir, the communities remain unsafe for farming.
Hussaini Maidawara, a resident of the Malale community, disclosed that the community was recently attacked twice, resulting in fatalities and abductions.
He added that the lack of response from the military base in Dansadau during the attacks further added to their insecurity.
Many of the community members said that the traditional ruler’s involvement in dialogue efforts is not yielding good results.
Kanempress gathered that the neighbouring communities that have reached peace deals with the bandits are reportedly subjected to a form of slavery, where the bandits forcefully occupy their farmlands and use the villagers as labourers, subjecting them to horrific conditions and acts of violence, including rape.
Also, an anonymous source accused the traditional ruler of taking advantage of his vulnerable subjects by imposing levies on farmers and traders and promising military escorts that often fail to materialize.
In response, the emir of Dansadau, Garba Mohammed, denied the allegations, stating that he adhered to the government’s directives and ceased engaging in dialogues with the bandits.
He refuted claims of extorting money from his subjects and clarified that the military escort arrangements were discontinued due to embarrassment caused by the allegations.
Efforts to obtain a response from the state government were unsuccessful as the senior special assistant to the governor on media and public affairs, Suleiman Idris, did not respond to inquiries.
