Protest Rocks Sokoto State, "People Are Fleeing in All Directions"
- Displaced residents of Shagari LGA in Sokoto blocked the Shagari-Sokoto highway, demanding urgent government intervention over escalating insecurity
- Hundreds of men and women gathered in Shagari town, the LGA headquarters, protesting repeated bandit attacks on their communities
- A resident from Rinaye village said they were left with no option but to protest after bandits raided their villages for three consecutive days, killing people
Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering metro.
Sokoto, Sokoto state - The wave of banditry in Sokoto has reached an alarming level, with criminal gangs allegedly tightening their deadly grip on 16 out of the state’s 23 local government areas (LGAs), leaving residents devastated, displaced, and increasingly hopeless.
As reported by Vanguard, on Monday evening, September 1, hundreds of men, women, and children from Shagari local government area staged a mass protest, blocking the Sokoto–Lagos trunk A highway.
Source: Original
Sokoto residents block highway
They expressed anger over relentless attacks that have crippled their communities and demanded urgent government action to stem the tide of killings and abductions.
Daily Trust also noted the protest.
The displaced residents, some barefoot and visibly traumatised, poured into Shagari town, the LGA headquarters, chanting slogans of frustration as they narrated their ordeal.
According to them, the government has abandoned them to the mercy of bloodthirsty gangs who roam their villages unhindered.
A resident of Rinaye village, Malam Kasimu, said:
“Several of our villages have now been deserted. People are fleeing in all directions, leaving behind their homes and farmlands."
The scale of devastation has been confirmed by the Sokoto State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). Officials from both agencies visited about 30 homes currently sheltering displaced persons. They also held discussions with traditional rulers, including the district head of Dundaji, Malam Muhammad Bello Magaji, and the head of Tungar Barke, Muhammadu Tudu, both of whom have themselves been displaced.
In a joint statement, NEMA and SEMA urgently appealed to the state and federal governments to deploy adequate security personnel to the affected areas.
Nigeria's prolonged banditry challenge
Legit.ng reports that Nigeria’s bandits maintain camps in a huge forest straddling Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states, in unrest that has evolved from clashes between herders and farmers over land and resources into a broader conflict fuelled by arms trafficking.
Source: Facebook
Some state government have recruited vigilantes and armed militias to assist the military in fighting the bandits.
In June, vigilantes, with the assistance of Nigeria’s security agents, killed about 100 suspected criminals when they raided the enclave of a gang kingpin in the state’s Shinkafi district, according to officials in Zamfara state.
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- Scores of APC members defect to ADC in Sokoto state
Bandits attack Sokoto mosque
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that armed bandits stormed a mosque in Marnona village, Wurno LGA of Sokoto state during early morning prayers.
Eyewitnesses said the attackers opened fire on worshippers, killing one person and injuring several others.
The chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Sokoto state, Isah Sadeeq Achida, condemned the assault, describing it as “barbaric and an act of cowardice.”
Source: Legit.ng
