…”Banditry in State now a lucrative business for politicians” – Gov. Matawalle
Terrorists have threatened to launch deadly attacks on nine communities in Zamfara unless they pay their levies.
The terrorists, operating in the Gando forest in Bukkuyum local government area of Zamfara State, declared the threats, via a letter sent to the nine communities.
The letters were reportedly written in the Hausa language and addressed to the different communities. Each of the letters has the name of the community on the top and the money it is expected to pay. There was also a mobile phone number written on the letters.
One of the letters read, “Yargalma. N5,000,000. From Dogon Sabi na-Auwali Wanzam. You people should reach out to us for peace. Come and pay us money, or vacate your town. Respect this and live in peace”.
A source at the palace of Bunun Zugu, the district head of Zugu, situated in Bukkuyum local government area, who confirmed the letter, clarified that the nine villages are spread across four districts and that all the letters were sent to Bunun Zugu.
A youth leader, Abubakar Gero, who is the coordinator of ‘Zamfara Circle’ in the area, said the letters were given to some kidnapped residents of Kyaram village, under Zugu.
According to him, “After payment of ransom by relatives of the captives, they asked them to go with the nine different letters and present them to Bunun Zugu, who was also instructed to forward it to the remaining heads”.
In a related development, Zamfara State governor, Bello Matawalle, has said bandit attacks in his State have turned into a lucrative venture owing to the influence of politicians.
The governor gave this assertion after he met President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja yesterday, to brief him on the security situation in his State.
Matawalle said the security situation was bound to improve in the coming days because the President has given a directive to the military to quell the crisis.
