Insecurity: Zamfara Youth Defy Army, Police, Block Highway.

Insecurity: Zamfara youth defy Army, Police, block highway. 

By Nasiru Hudu, Gusau

PROTESTING youth blocked the Gusau-Kaura Namoda highway at the Sakajiki community on Tuesday, October 17, over recurring bandit attacks, killings, abductions and other insecurity issues in the state.

The ICIR gathered that bandits abducted women from the village after killing several others and setting many houses on fire. They also allegedly used a Police patrol vehicle (Hilux) they snatched to loot foodstuffs from the community.

The ICIR further reports that the community has since been deserted by its people, with houses, schools, mosques, and shops spared by the bandits’ inferno shut by owners.

Residents said bandits had attacked the village on Monday night (October 16) and allegedly killed one Mobile Police officer. They snatched a Police patrol vehicle, among other atrocities they committed, before returning two days later (on Monday).

The community youth trooped to the highway at dawn on Tuesday, preventing motorists and other road users from moving for several hours. They barricaded the road with timber logs and stones.

Some of the stranded passengers as youth blocked the Gusau-Kaura Namoda highway at the Sakajiki community on Tuesday, October 17, over insecurity.
The youth were unmoved by the arrival of Police and military officers. They shunned the security officers’ pleas to vacate the road, including repeated promises to take more drastic measures to restore peace to the state. 

As the tension lingered, the state Commissioner of Police (CP), Muhammad Shehu Dalijan, arrived at the scene, accompanied by the Emir of Kaura Namoda, Sanusi Muhammad Asha, whose arrival caught the protesters’ attention.

The Emir introduced the Police Commissioner to the people of Sakajiki and urged them to shield their swords.

He said security forces were taking drastic measures to end the persistent insecurity in the village and the state.

Addressing the people, the Police Commissioner said he was at the village at the instance of the state Governor Dauda Lawal.

Youth blocked the Gusau-Kaura Namoda highway at the Sakajiki community on Tuesday, October 17, over insecurity
He explained that the governor assigned him to visit the village for assessment and restrategize to secure the area.

The CP assured them the government would deploy more security operatives and weapons to the deserted village.

The ICIR reports that Zamfara is one of the North-West states facing protracted insecurity.

The state’s immediate past governor, Bello Matalle, lost re-election in March after battling unsuccessfully throughout his four years in office to secure his state.

In August, The ICIR reported how President Tinubu appointed him a Minister of State for Defence despite failure to protect his people.

Some of the items used by the youth of the Sakajiki community as they blocked the Gusau-Kaura Namoda highway on Tuesday, October 17, over insecurity.
Zamfara has faced attacks from terrorists, lost hundreds of residents to insecurity, and had thousands of others displaced.

In October 2022, this organisation reported how 30 schools remained shut after one year because of insecurity.