From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Hon Bello Hassan Shinkafi, a member representing Zurmi and Shinkafi Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, has lamented the impacts of deadly activities of armed bandits that have been attacking several communities in Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
The lawmaker told BBC Hausa Service, on Tuesday, that over 50 villages in the LGA have been sacked by the bandits and its people forced out of their ancestral lands to different Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps.
He said that many of the displaced persons have relocated to the headquarters of the local government where they feel a little safe because of the presence of some security officials. “There’s a village called Magaya, people from over 20 displaced communities have relocated there simply because there are police and soldiers present there.”
He lamented the frequency of attacks in the area, confirming that each attack on any of the community, expectedly, leaves the people with traces of sorrow and tears resulting in deaths, injuries and abductions.
“A few days ago, in a village called Kanwa, the bandits invaded the community in broad daylight, killed three persons and kidnapped so many others. A similar attack took place In a nearby village called Nasarawa where they abducted so many people.
“Over 500 persons are currently in the custody of the bandits, and only God knows the trauma and horrible experiences they are passing through there. However, the State Governor, Dauda Lawal, is working day and night with security officials to secure the release of these captives, and also fix the security issues in the state.
“Just a few days ago, over 100 people were rescued and reunited with their families as a result of the efforts of the governor. But to achieve more, we need more security personnel with more equipment that would improve their prompt responses. The security officials also need adequate care and moral support.”
He, however, suggested a kind of reshuffling of the security officials serving in the communities, in addition to increasing the number.
He added: “There are security officials in the communities, but I can tell you that they are not enough to confront these armed criminals. But we have another challenge which is the fact that many of the soldiers serving there have overstayed in the communities.
“Many of them have spent 8 to 10 years in the community. Some kind of complacency has set in. So, they need to be changed as quickly as possible and replaced with new ones. We have reported this to the relevant authorities, and I am sure that action is being taken on that.”