Zamfara killings: Those behind attacks must stop now, group warns

Report had it that hundreds of persons lost their lives in separate attacks championed by suspected bandits in some communities in Zamfara State and various human right groups have called on all concerned to stop.

The Save Nigeria Coalition, said some politicians, who lost tickets during the last primary elections were pained and resorted to violence.

Comrade Yusuf Msheliza, National Convener of the group, while addressing the media in Abuja on Wednesday, appealed to the international community and the relevant authorities to call Yari and his associates to order before the situation gets out of hand.

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His words: “The turn of event in Zamfara state is as troubling as it is baffling. Here is a state that was peaceful was set to becoming a replacement economic hub for what the country has lost in the Borno state axis where farming and fishing in the Lake Chad Basin have been disrupted by terrorists. The same Zamfara state has now metamorphosed into a killing field where unknown killers are now on rampage.

We of course acknowledged that the state in the past had occasional incidents of cattle rustling and incidents of robberies like any other part of the country or even other countries of the world. The state graduating to banditry on an industrial scale was quite a surprise.

But the surprise was only up till the time that information has now trickled out to provide details about how the political bigwigs in the state have been stoking the fire of banditry, especially upon their rejection by their party members as flag bearers in the 2019 elections.

There is no point dilly dallying about what we have found out. The upsurge in banditry is politically masterminded by the Zamfara state Governor Yari. The governor, unfortunately, is supported by some All Progressives Congress (APC) members in his camp.

These elements who lost out in the primaries are embittered that they were unable to get tickets as candidates. It is no coincidence that bandits have gone on killing spree since they lost out.

“Nigerians will therefore not tolerate a situation where politicians, irrespective of whether they lost primary elections, release killers in the guise of bandits to create another security threat for the country. Our Coalition will ensure that anyone that fails to heed this timely counsel and is later indicted would be dragged before all the courts possible on earth.

“Our demand to Governor Yari and his supporters in the APC is unequivocal. They need to respect the sanctity of life and call off the killers they have contracted to cause mayhem in Zamfara state without further delay. They must also public renounce violence in any guise in addition to distancing themselves from acts that amount to endorsing violence as the answer when the permutation does not favour them.

The Governors of the neighbouring states must do their part, which would in a way reassure Nigerians that they are not part of the political syndicate that is encouraging bandits to launch attacks against communities in the area.

“We urge the Federal Government to step into the situation before it gets out of hand. While the state governor presently enjoys immunity, his aides that do not enjoy immunity and found to be complicit in the banditry related killings in the state must be shown the full wrath of the law. Again, we warn that we must not have another Boko Haram in the country before steps are taken to bring those behind the carnages in Zamfara to book.