What You Need to Know:

Armed men laid siege to a police station for thirty minutes in Zamfara State’s Kasuwa-Daji town early Tuesday morning, leaving four dead including two policemen.

The gunmen then kidnapped forty women and children, presumably to be held for ransom. 

Police spokesman, Yacid Abubakar, stated the attack began at around 1:30am and lasted around thirty minutes, stressing that Police are doing the utmost to ensure the safe return of the abductees. 

The Details:

Kidnappings for ransom by ‘bandits’ are a common occurrence in Zamfara State, with kidnappings peaking at 4138 cases annually in 2019, reducing somewhat in 2022 with 645 reported cases. 

A study conducted on the causes of banditry in Zamfara state by Idris Saminu, Che Mohd Aziz binYaacob, and Shazwanis Binti Shukri, claims that banditry is fueled by the competition for resources between farmers and herdsmen. 

Attempts by the Nigerian Government and local vigilante groups to combat the bandits has further inflamed the issue, leading to more violent attacks.

Saminu, binYaacob, and Shukri posit bandit attacks are “Predicated on eco-survivalism, the bandits’ desperate attempts to survive were due to the competing challenge from the vigilantes and the government to eliminate them and their source of illegitimate wealth. They created more ferocious reinvigoration to accomplish their survival goals. It has upscaled deterioration in the attacks and the humanitarian crises in the state.”