By Muhammad Mamman
Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State has accused security agencies of frustrating efforts to tackle banditry in the state, alleging that they routinely ignore distress calls because they await clearance from Abuja.
In a viral video circulating online on Wednesday, Mr Lawal declared that he is fully aware of the locations of notorious bandit leaders operating in Zamfara but lacks the constitutional authority to mobilise security forces against them.
“I can tell you the whereabouts of every bandit kingpin in Zamfara, even from my phone. I can point them out right now. But I do not control the security agencies — and that is the problem,” the governor lamented.
He decried what he described as the “politicisation of insecurity,” warning that the failure to act decisively is devastating communities across the state.
“The politicisation of insecurity is not hurting me personally; it is destroying Zamfara. Some people do not want us to succeed, but I will not stop trying,” he said.
Citing an incident in Shinkafi Local Government Area, the governor alleged that security operatives refused to respond to an invasion by armed bandits despite urgent calls for assistance. “They declined to move simply because they had not received orders from Abuja. This is the challenge we are facing. But we trust God, and surely, He will come to our rescue,” he added.
Zamfara has been one of the epicentres of mass abductions and killings in northern Nigeria in recent years. Human rights organisation Amnesty International, in a July report, described the state as a “living hell” for many villagers, highlighting the abduction of 38 residents from Banga village in Kaura Namoda LGA.
According to Amnesty, no part of Zamfara has been safe since at least 2018. The group reported that in just the last two years, over 273 people have been killed and 467 abducted, while nearly 500 villages have been destroyed and more than 500 others remain under the full control of bandits across 13 local government areas.
