Zamfara: Where Villagers Live in Fear of Armed Robbers

The alleged refusal of the police in Zamfara state to properly investigate and prosecute armed robbery suspects arrested by members of the Vigilante group and handed over to the authorities along with exhibits but later set them free has been identified as the major reason for the attacks on some communities. Zamfara State is the […]

The alleged refusal of the police in Zamfara state to properly investigate and prosecute armed robbery suspects arrested by members of the Vigilante group and handed over to the authorities along with exhibits but later set them free has been identified as the major reason for the attacks on some communities. Zamfara State is the home of the incumbent Inspector General of Police, Mr Mohammed D. Abubakar. Rural communities here have been raided frequently by armed bandits.

 

Secretary to the Vigilante group in Maru Local Government, Malam Salisu Ja’e Maru, said for over one year now, almost daily, there must be at least one robbery case in the government area where people will be attacked, robbed and their properties, money and other valuables, including cows, food and household items carted away because policemen posted on joint patrol along with members of the vigilante did not enter the bushes where the armed robbers were hiding nor did they confront the armed robbers.

“When we were asked to go out on patrol with them, they would not like to go into the forest believing that we have protective charms to defend ourselves while they did not have any. They would always tell us to go into the forest while they waited for us in the nearby villages. When we arrested armed robbers, sometimes with their guns or with peoples’ properties, and handed over to the police, two days later you would see the same robbery suspects moving in the town as free persons.

“It is not about charm but about dedication and commitment to whatever one decides to do. The armed robbers are carrying sophisticated arms; they feed well on the wealth of the innocent people that they robbed. The policeman is trained and armed as well. We only carry sticks, daggers and live on a N5,000 salary per month, which the present administration introduced. In the past, no one paid us anything.

“I blame government and the police for the security challenges in the state. We know where these armed robbers are living in the forest. If the police cannot fight them, bring soldiers and let us take them to the forest and confront the armed robbers or let government give us arms. We are ready to go and arrest them. We mobilized in the past and entered the forest and even saw the houses they built and the canopies they erected with generating sets. Some of them were arrested even with their computers and the police took them away. But where are they today and where are the arms found on them?

“Yes, we are supposed to be going on joint patrols with the police but they do not like going out with us because the kind of work we would like to do by going to look for criminals in their hideouts may not be the one the policemen would like us to do. When there was robbery in a village or at a village market, the people would volunteer useful information like the description of the robbers, where they headed to and the type of property they stole. When we got all these and asked the police to follow us to the forest in search of the culprits, they would not go with us,” he alleged.

On the various allegations in the state that members of the Vigilante Group had, in the past carried out mass executions of people suspected to have robbed or stole or are still in the act, for which surviving suspects mobilized and launch attacks as a revenge, Malam Salisu Ja’e Maru said it was true, but that the extra judicial killings were not carried out by the Vigilante groups.

“When those killings took place about two to three years ago, we had no organized Vigilante group. The government of Governor Mahmuda Aliyu Shinkafi did not organize the Vigilante group in the state. In fact, there was none in existence. People from different communities, who felt they were being severely attacked by the robbers and the police were doing little or nothing to help them, decided to form volunteer groups to secure their areas. It was those volunteer groups that were arresting armed robbers and killing them.

“They were killing them because they had no confidence in the system. They felt if they handed the suspects over to the police they might be released, Maru Local Government Area is very large with very thick forests.

The immediate past chairman of the Vigilante group in the local government area in whose tenure the state government organized the the vigilante groups, Malam Lauwali Danbanga Maru, said before his tenure as chairman of Vigilante group suspected thieves and armed robbers and those suspected to have ever stolen or robbed were hunted and killed, while those that escaped fled the area.

“What we had then were community volunteers who formed themselves into groups and were hunting all those with records of theft or robbery. When the present administration came to power, it formed Vigilante groups and asked us to work with the police, the traditional rulers and local authorities. The state government directed that anybody arrested for whatever offence, irrespective of the volume of evidence against him, should be handed over to the police.

“During my tenure as chairman of Vigilante group, they were still on this vengeance mission. In fact, there was a time the armed robbers wrote a letter to the people of Bindin and dropped it in a mosque, threatening that they would attack the town repeatedly until they sacked everyone from there and turned it into a monkeys village. They actually attacked and even killed the Imam of the place. My group battled them to ensure that they did not return,” he said.

Malam Lawali Danbanga said the suspected armed robbers were living amongst the villagers in most of the villages attacked, until the local community started attacking those with records of recent and previous crimes. The suspects relocated to the forest and started attacking people and dispossessing them of their valuables.

“The gunmen, being in hundreds, men and women, stormed towns and villages and killed people and robbed them. There was a time we stormed the forest and had fierce battle with the robbers. We discovered that they built an apartment and erected tents with generator. Some computers were also recovered from them. We handed them over to the police.

“When they attacked a village, they usually raided houses and cart away household items. They killed men and women that either resisted or attempted to obstruct them. They had women as members of their gangs. Those women used to carry loots. They also carted  away cows, goats, rams and even farm produce. In some cases, they even destroyed houses and farmlands,” he said.

The state’s Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Ibrahim Birnin Magaji, said as a major step taken by the present administration to ensure adequate security, obedience to law and order, all unregistered local and community security groups were disbanded and a three-day security conference organized where all stakeholders, security agencies, traditional and community leaders as well as youth and social groups were in attendance.

“Part of the resolutions at that conference were that Vigilante groups would be formed at ward, village and local government levels to complement the efforts of the police. These Vigilante groups would be equipped and funded by government and would operate strictly according to the laws of the state. They would be going out on patrols with the police. They had the right to arrest suspects but should hand them over immediately to the police. No suspect should be beaten or killed by them.

“Within the one year of this administration, over 83 brand new vehicles were donated to the police. The government also donated cars to other security agencies in the state like the SSS, Immigration, Customs, Civil Defense, army and all other security agencies. We donated huge sums of money to them to facilitate their operations in the state. We renovated their offices and did every thing to make them comfortable.

“Our biggest interest is the security of lives and property in the state. We value and cherish the security of everyone in this state and that is why the government spent so much on security. We have vigilant groups in all the 127 wards of the 14 local government areas of the state and for them to function well, we had to support them. That will tell you how serious this administration takes the issue of security.

“The security agencies are trying but we need more from them. We noticed that the police are under staffed in some areas of the state. So, we need the federal governments assistance in that regard even though I am not holding brief for them. I also know they have the capacity and the capability to contain all the security challenges. But it is a fact that they are under staffed in the state,” he said.

Several communities have come under serious attacks by armed men in the state where so many lives were lost and huge sums of money snatched in the past one year.

Four policemen serving with Zamfara State police command were killed when some gunmen laid ambush and opened fire at the police patrol vehicle escorting businessmen from Dansadau on their way to Kano. The police in the state who could not post armed policemen to the armed robbery prone areas devised a method of providing armed police escorts to traders from the area.

Governor Abdulaziz Yari, while sympathizing with the victims, donated N1 million to each family of the slain policemen in addition to forty bags of assorted grains.

The policemen killed were Corporal Dominic Maiwada, Constable Yahaya Ibrahim, Sergeant Hassan Bako, and Inspector Lawal Ibrahim. The incident took place at Jangeme area of Gusau Local government area near the state capital. An eyewitness said they were woken up by gunshots as early as 5.30am on the day of the attack.

“I was coming out of the mosque which was near my house. I heard the sound of motorcycles passing through the back of my house and I said what was happening at this hour. I really didn’t know how many they were but I could image that it was a crowd,” Isa Dangulbi has said.

Similarly, suspected armed robbers had in April attacked Tungan Baushe and Guru villages of Dansadau district in the state, killing 10 people and carting away cows and other valuable items.

A victim of the attack, Malam Sa’adu, told Sunday Trust from sick bed at the Federal Medical centre, Gusau that he lost his parents and younger ones during the attack. He added that the attackers were armed with sophisticated weapons.

All efforts were made to clarify some issues related to the attacks in the state from the Commissioner of Police (CP), Mr A. O. Gwary were met with stiff resistance from the CP who said he had nothing new on the incident to tell the press. He insisted that he had beefed up security at the crisis areas. The following conversation ensued between the CP and this reporter?

There was an attack by gunmen few days ago. No arrest has been made. What efforts are you making to arrest the attackers who are still very much around, attacking people?

Which one? Be specific?

All the attacks in the state within the past one year.

Few Months ago?

Yes, sir.

I am not aware

What about the recent one?

Which one?

The one of Dangulbi and its neighbouring villages.

What do you want to know about it?

Has there been any arrest so far? If not, what efforts are you making to arrest the attackers?

No arrest? Let me correct you. It is not 23; it is 22 (that died). So far there is no arrest yet.

People are worried that this entire year they have been persistently attacked by the men, there has been no arrests by the police. The attack was still going on up to this afternoon; still no arrests by the police. What efforts are you making to save lives and property in those areas?

You would have found out whether they have informed the police, find out! We didn’t know there was an attack. I want to give you the task to find out from them when the police were informed.

Were there no policemen manning police formations in those villages?

We do.

But they were also not aware of the attacks and did not seek for re-enforcement?

There is no way of communicating from the place. So, they have sent somebody. There is no communication, there is no network around there, so, by the time we knew, those people had gone.

And a policeman was among those that were killed?

Yes.

Was he on duty or just on his own?

The policeman was not feeling fine, so he was lying down. He took some drugs and was lying down and they met him sleeping. Not at his duty post, but not very far from his duty post.

That means there was police presence in the places that were attacked?

Yes, but those policemen there were not armed.