Armed gunmen kill at least 38 in Nigeria’s Zamfara as bandit violence spreads

Gunmen kill dozens in northwest Nigeria attack

Armed attackers killed at least 38 people in the village of Dutse Dan Ajiya in Nigeria’s north-western Zamfara State, local police and officials told AFP on Saturday.

Zamfara, like many states in northern Nigeria, faces persistent insecurity driven by armed gangs known locally as “bandits” who raid villages and abduct residents, alongside an expanding jihadist threat. Militants operating in the north-west have increasingly extended their activities southwards.

The assault took place overnight between Thursday and Friday in the remote village, which has “few access routes,” said Zamfara police spokesperson Yazid Abubakar. He added: “Right now, normalcy has been restored in the area.”

Hamisu Faru, a local legislator who said the death toll stood at 50, stated: “the bandits came from Gando forest. They laid siege on Dutse Dan Ajiya and opened indiscriminate fire, killing any resident who tried to flee.”

Armed groups are largely based in forested areas spanning Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi and Niger states, using these hideouts to launch repeated attacks on surrounding communities.

The Nigerian army has reinforced its presence in the region for several years in an effort to curb the violence, but attacks have continued despite the increased deployment.

The escalation of violence by both jihadist groups and bandit networks has drawn renewed attention from the United States in recent months.

US President Donald Trump, who has described much of the violence as “persecution” or even “genocide” against Christians, ordered surprise airstrikes on Christmas Day in coordination with Nigerian authorities in Sokoto State in northern Nigeria.

Most experts say that both Christians and Muslims have been equally affected by the violence.

Since 2009, the jihadist insurgency in Nigeria, led primarily by Boko Haram and its rival faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), has left more than 40,000 dead and two million displaced in the northeast of the country, according to the UN.

The recent attack in Zamfara State came the day after attacks on seven villages in neighbouring Kebbi State by the Lakurawa jihadist group, which killed dozens of people, according to police and a confidential security report seen by AFP.

In recent years, the emergence of Lakurawa in the northwest has exacerbated violence in the region, forcing the governments of the affected states to recruit more self-defence militias.

Some researchers link Lakurawa to the Islamic State in the Sahel, which is primarily active in Mali and neighbouring Niger, although others remain sceptical.

Meanwhile, Nigeria's "bandits" gangs, primarily motivated by money, have strengthened their cooperation with jihadist groups.