Nigeria: Banditry left us with 500 widows, 1,600 orphans –Katsina district head

Nigeria: Banditry left us with 500 widows, 1,600 orphans –Katsina district head Alhaji Mohammed Muazu is the District Head of Batsari, i...

Nigeria: Banditry left us with 500 widows, 1,600 orphans –Katsina district head

Alhaji Mohammed Muazu is the District Head of Batsari, in the Batsari Local Government Area of Katsina State, and Sarkin Ruma, Katsina. He tells OLAIDE OYELUDE about recent attacks by bandits, including the killing of 15 farmers in Yar Gamji village, and how the attackers are making life difficult for residents in his community

How did you receive the news of the killing of the farmers in your community?

The development could best be described as horrible. Banditry now takes place in my community almost on a daily basis. Let me clarify, however, that the attack at Yar Gamji did not take place inside the village but on the farmlands. The bandits swooped on the farmers on the farmlands at about 11am. The security officials helped us to drive them away. The bandits had, however, killed the 15 farmers and injured two others before the arrival of the security officials who engaged them in a shootout and eventually drove them away.

The renewed attacks by bandits have naturally instilled fear and frustration in my people. People can no longer go to their farms as they used to do because of the fear of attacks. Even in the various towns and villages in the council, people sleep with one eye open. We know the government is trying its best but we shall always appeal to them to do more. As I speak, we in the Batsari Local Government Area are more concerned about our security. It is only when our community is secure that we talk of farming or any other business. Currently, farming activities only take place in four villages in the whole of the council because of security challenges.

Farming activities take place only in Ruma, Batsari, Wagini and Abadau, and we have over 200 villages. Yet, we are predominantly farmers here.

How many members of your community have been killed by bandits?

The losses are unquantifiable. I cannot actually quantify the losses in terms of monetary value. I will only say the monetary losses are in millions of naira. For instance, how much can bring back those who were killed by the bandits? You cannot quantify the loss of a single human being in terms of naira and kobo. Yet, we have lost over 300 people to the bandits. The bandits killed our innocent, able-bodied men and women. Specifically, the bandits have killed at least 300 men. Because of the deaths, we now have no fewer than 500 widows and 1,600 orphans. Also, the model school where the internally displaced persons are taking refuge is filled to the brim because of the bandits’ activities. Apart from disrupting our farming activities, the bandits rustled between three million and four million cows which are mainly bulls. Also, our children could not go to school anymore in all the areas that the bandits attacked because of their safety. Some of the children are being relocated to other places considered safer.

Are you surprised that the bandits still operate in your area despite the presence of the Federal Government Special Forces in the council?

One should naturally be baffled. We appreciate the efforts of both the federal and state governments in tackling the bandits. As I said earlier, it was the Special Forces that helped us drive away the bandits who killed our farmers on Monday. We know the government is trying its best but we shall always appeal to them to do more. As I speak, we in Batsari LGA are more concerned about our security. Our findings have revealed that many of these bandits are not from the state. They are mainly from Zamfara State and Niger Republic. That is why we are calling on the Federal Government to do more for the state (Katsina). There was an occasion on which we went to settle the rift among farmers and the herders in one of our communities, believing that if we did that, there would not be an attack on the community again. But the very day we tried to settle the rift, the bandits attacked the community again and we discovered that the bandits who attacked the community were from Zamfara State and Niger Republic. It is because of this that we are begging the Federal Government to do more for us in terms of security.

It was observed that some IDPs were initially taking refuge in your palace. Where are they now?

The IDPs you saw the other time have been relocated to the model school where other IDPs are being taken care of by the state government for better coordination. You know, at the model school, we have various government officials, including health personnel and welfare officers who take care of them on a daily basis. Security is also provided for them there.


How many IDPs are there now?

I don’t have an idea of the actual figure. But the government officials taking care of them should know. All I know is that the IDPs make the palace their first port of call whenever bandits strike in their communities. They are later resettled at the model school. The villagers at Yar Gamji are, however, not relocating because of the attack. The village head of Yar Gamji was even in Batsari on Tuesday, July 7, 2020 and he has gone back to the village to join his people. The attack occurred on their farmlands and not in the village.  We can only appeal to both the federal and the state governments to do more. On our part, we shall keep on praying for the success of the governments in their efforts to end banditry in the state.

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