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A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State - Politics (2) - Nairaland

Nairaland ForumNairaland GeneralPoliticsA Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State (12473 Views)

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Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by Dogalmighty17: 11:52am On Dec 03, 2025
The number of bandits in Zamfara alone is over 50% of the size of the Nigerian army. Don't doubt me. A few clicks should verify this information for you.
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by OneHonestMan: 11:53am On Dec 03, 2025
This is a real eye opener, it's good to know where we started meanwhile,
Watch as he came home and met his father's farm burnt and that led to unearthing of a huge secret hidden thousands of years

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp325hLF-Lg
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by MaziObinnaokija: 12:03pm On Dec 03, 2025
sad introduction to TERRORISM AND BANDITRY By...............
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by hotseat: 12:36pm On Dec 03, 2025
Kidnapping, banditry, Boko Haram, ISWAP, Lakurawa, etc are all different manifestations of terrorism.

No other nomenclature should be used to describe them.

They are all terrorists!

Period.


Zamfara State would forever remain in the infamous books of history as the progenitor of modern-day terrorism in Nigeria.

Defeating terrorism wouldn't have been so difficult if the issue of religious bigotry and supremacy weren't attached to it.

Some Northern leaders have often come out in defense of the terrorists who they call "our brothers" or stating emphatically that any attack against them is an attack against the North.

Today, what they supported and encouraged has boomerang as these criminals have turned against even their own "Muslim brothers and sisters".

Without mincing words, the Fulanis have been primarily singled out as the main perpetrators of these heinous crimes going on in our country.

The military which ought to defend the country against elements such as these, is largely populated by the Hausa/Fulani who lack the political will to wage an outright war against their kith and kin.

Even if all the necessary weapons are provided for them, nothing tangible would come out.

Terrorism has been institutionalized and has come to stay!





@hotseat
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by nairalanda1(m): 1:02pm On Dec 03, 2025
shortgun:
This is not entirely accurate. APC created bandits to remove Jonathan from office.
The terrorists have come out severally to say the people in government gave them arms.
Your comment shows that

1. GEJ was weak on security to the point that he could not deal with politicans bringing in their geng to cause havoc

2. GEJ was weak overall because hausas , not because he was a bad leader

3. Everything that happened under GEJ regime that was bad was due to northerners

Note that there is truth in your comment, but when a leader is scared of a bloc of his own people and can't take decisions to stop them, then that one no be leader, na weakling.

And the effing funny thing is tinubu supporters are now using the same excuse. Meanwhile many northerners back then and under buhari were blaming the Zionists and international community amd even southerners

You guys don't want good government self.
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by Truejihadistont: 1:02pm On Dec 03, 2025
BlackViper:
This summary is done by Mr Ayo Eleso:




Source
First there's nothing "summary" about this write up.
Secondly the author is rather bent on explaining away the phenomenon than summarize anything
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by nairalanda1(m): 1:05pm On Dec 03, 2025
richiemcgold:
In case you don't know, introduction of Sharia law also started in Zamfara state during the era of Governor Sani Yerima (1999-2007)

.. you can connect the dots and see the root cause of Islamic terrorism and banditry in Nigeria.
Sharia na for politics, no be for religion or even for law and order. People like yerima of zamfara and buhari use am campaign

Once in office, buhari no take steps implement sharia law for Nigeria as he promised. Yerima as senator was busy marrying tear rubber Arab virgin who was also underaged. Nothing to pass laws for we kontri.

The day you realize how politicans dey do manipulation, even guys like buhari who some people thought was a plain speaking leader is the day you get how naija is run. All for the cake , nothing for development
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by nairalanda1(m): 1:08pm On Dec 03, 2025
Truejihadistont:
First there's nothing "summary" about this write up.
Secondly the author is rather bent on explaining away the phenomenon than summarize anything
He is explaining how it started, he is not saying that tinubu is excused from solving it.

One mistake USA made in invading Afghanistan is that they did not study the past experiences of the UK and the Russians there. That's how they wasted 20 years there and achieved nothing except to keep the seat warm for the same Taliban they removed

To solve a problem, understand how it started. Understanding how it started does not mean tinubu should sit down and let us suffer. Even if we want to blame past leaders and circumstances, it still does not change the fact that tinubu is in charge and it is his problem to solve. Qed
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by nairalanda1(m): 1:10pm On Dec 03, 2025
Portiphaaa:
All this nonsense story just to exnorate a failed system/government.
You said they have grass root dated to 1891, but ex president buhari said they were foreigners, so who is fooling who?
The real shiit happening are illegal mining, kidnapping for ransom and land grabbing.

"if terrorism lasts for more than 24hrs, government has a hand in it"
- Gen Sani Abacha
No, just to understand how it started

Tinubu still has to.deal.with the problem whether it stated five days or five hundred years ago
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by nairalanda1(m): 1:10pm On Dec 03, 2025
SeverusSnape:
APC promised "change", They should tackle the banditry head-on, simple.
Exactly
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by HausaIgboYoruba: 1:14pm On Dec 03, 2025
hotseat:
Kidnapping, banditry, Boko Haram, ISWAP, Lakurawa, etc are all different manifestations of terrorism.

No other nomenclature should be used to describe them.

They are all terrorists!

Period.


Zamfara State would forever remain in the infamous books of history as the progenitor of modern-day terrorism in Nigeria.

Defeating terrorism wouldn't have been so difficult if the issue of religious bigotry and supremacy weren't attached to it.

Some Northern leaders have often come out in defense of the terrorists who they call "our brothers" or stating emphatically that any attack against them is an attack against the North.

Today, what they supported and encouraged has boomerang as these criminals have turned against even their own "Muslim brothers and sisters".

Without mincing words, the Fulanis have been primarily singled out as the main perpetrators of these heinous crimes going on in our country.

The military which ought to defend the country against elements such as these, is largely populated by the Hausa/Fulani who lack the political will to wage an outright war against their kith and kin.

Even if all the necessary weapons are provided for them, nothing tangible would come out.

Terrorism has been institutionalized and has come to stay!





@hotseat
100% correct. You highlighted the real problems. Also, these Fulani terrorists were causing havoc in Benue and Plateau, but northern elites supported them, saying they had legitimate reasons to kill those people. The truth is that nothing but ethnicity and religion were the reasons the northern elites supported them. Alhamdulillah, the terror you grew has come home with even more ferocity.
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by MightySparrow: 1:18pm On Dec 03, 2025
SeverusSnape:
APC promised "change", They should tackle the banditry head-on, simple.
They didn't define the type of change . What we are experiencing is a change only on the negative side.


APC is a truthful party.
Vote for them again.grin
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by GenFunction: 1:31pm On Dec 03, 2025
As far back as 1891, banditry had existed in Zamfara, so it is not a new phenomenon in that region of the country.


They say e don tey no be today.
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by 3seriez(m): 1:56pm On Dec 03, 2025
Please tag Nicki Minaj. It's a genocide against Christians in Zamfara.
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by Blankstare(m): 1:58pm On Dec 03, 2025
Sterope:
My first real exposure to the history of banditry was the story of a group that operated in Ilorin in the pre-colonial era. And honestly, the way they worked back then is almost identical to how bandits operate today.

They would storm a compound, seize the man’s wives and children, and then demand ransom. If he couldn’t pay, they didn’t hesitate; they sold the captives into slavery. Some of those slaves were eventually pushed into the wider Arab slave routes disappearing forever.
Pls which book is it? I am very interested in knowing. By d way I am from ilorin
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by donmik: 2:34pm On Dec 03, 2025
You made no point.

Explain the reason for the resurgence of banditry in relation to the gold mining in Zamfara

Matawale vs Tinubu....
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by chrisxxx(m): 3:04pm On Dec 03, 2025
Banditry survived Islam in its early years. Banditry started in Medina. Islam grew like wild fire based on goods stolen on the route of Medina from Arabian and European traders. Banditry and Islam are 5&6.
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by Sirjamo: 3:23pm On Dec 03, 2025
Sharia was not mentioned as one of the reasons
Yet, some miserable idiots alway blame Sharia for banditry and boko haram
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by professore(m): 4:28pm On Dec 03, 2025
cry
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by Sterope(f): 4:32pm On Dec 03, 2025
I am sorry. That was a long time ago. I will send it to you when I find it.

Blankstare:
Pls which book is it? I am very interested in knowing. By d way I am from ilorin
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by Blankstare(m): 4:39pm On Dec 03, 2025
Sterope:
I am sorry. That was a long time ago. I will send it to you when I find it.
Ok thank you
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by Karlifate: 6:40pm On Dec 03, 2025
Neddstark:
Not surprised to read that it was in their history since 1891. Thanks to the British who squashed it then.
But when history repeated itself again, fhey got pardon and peace talks. If these set of people in Zamfara were in the Niger Delta, i wonder how we would have been able to make money by exporting oil. They better curb it now else it will become a way of life.
Something that started more than 100 years ago, and still in continuation is already a "way of life" for them.
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by Konquest: 8:12pm On Dec 03, 2025
Sterope:
My first real exposure to the history of banditry was the story of a group that operated in Ilorin in the pre-colonial era. And honestly, the way they worked back then is almost identical to how bandits operate today.

They would storm a compound, seize the man’s wives and children, and then demand ransom. If he couldn’t pay, they didn’t hesitate
; they sold the captives into slavery. Some of those slaves were eventually pushed into the wider Arab slave routes disappearing forever.
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by Konquest: 8:46pm On Dec 03, 2025
BlackViper:
This summary is done by Mr Ayo Eleso:

I have just read the entire 56 pages of this paper, “I am a Bandit: A Decade of Research in Zamfara State Bandit’s Den,” delivered by Dr. Murtala Rufa’i in September 2021, and I have provided a summary so that you wouldn’t have to read the entire document.

1. Contemporary rural banditry started in Zamfara in 2011, and the first gang was formed by two criminals known as Kundu and Buharin Daji.

By 2021, just a decade later, over 120 bandit gangs have emerged and had presence in six states. 10,000 bandits operated in Zamfara alone, killed over 12,000 people, stole more than 250,000 cattle, destroyed about 120 villages, and displaced 50,000 people.

2.As far back as 1891, banditry had existed in Zamfara, so it is not a new phenomenon in that region of the country.

Oral historians spoke of it and accused traditional rulers of colluding with bandits to rustle cattle and rob people. In fact, in the colonial period, bandits killed 210 traders and stole goods worth about 150,000 British Pounds.

The colonial government had to respond swiftly by stationing armed policemen in all strategic routes to curb this menace.

3. There are different speculations about the emergence of banditry in present day Zamfara.

The first speculation is that politicians recruited some youths and gave them arms to achieve their political agenda in 2011. After winning the elections, these armed youths were abandoned. Since they had weapons, they began to rob people and rustle cattle, and instead of state authorities tackling this challenge, they gave the bandits amnesty and state pardon.

The second speculation is that the bandits are simply aggrieved groups fighting for justice. They had since been subjected to extortion, exploitation, and deprivation by different state agencies. They formed a group named Kungiyar Gayu, which means ‘an association of young guys,’ to fight for social justice.

The third speculation is illicit mining. Illegal miners, seeking to gain the upper hand over their competitors, armed young boys from the forests of Dan Sadau, Dan Gulbi, and Bagega, all major mining areas in Zamfara State, a state blessed with huge gold deposits. These local miners collaborated with illegal foreign groups of South African, Chinese, and Russian origins to supply arms to the young boys. They delivered arms using helicopters. Some traditional rulers are also alleged to be involved in these illegal mining activities.

4. Sheik Gumi, after a tour to some of the bandits’ dens, provided an estimate of 100,000 arms in the hands of bandits, which raises the question of how these bandits get weapons.

The ‘porous border thesis’ provides an explanation. Nigeria has about 1,950 official borders, but there is an absolute shortage of manpower to oversee these borders. Even when these borders are manned, some of the officials have been accused of conniving with bandits to facilitate the movement of weapons into the country.

5. Teenage boys, young girls, and even married women, are involved in banditry. Some attacks have been carried out by teenage boys without the consent of their elders.

The young girls provided services such as intelligence gathering and serving as cooks to the bandits. Sometimes these armed girls were charged to look after the kidnapped victims so that they do not escape. These women also received their share of the ‘spoils of war,’ in cash and cattle

It should be noted that not every one of these women chose to become bandits. Some of them were given out as wives to leaders of bandit groups in exchange for protection of their villages

6. Bandits have also been involved in raping young girls who were sent to fetch firewood or cut grass in nearby bush. In 2012 alone, over 50 cases of rape were recorded in one district, but the number is higher, as many parents often keep silent to avoid social rejection of the victims.

7. Finally, banditry has become very sophisticated, as bandits have grown in strength, tactics and connections with various terrorist groups across West Africa and beyond.

With all the atrocities committed by these bandits, is it right to keep addressing them as bandits? Should they not be addressed as terrorists?

Thank you for reading.

You can access the full document here if you are interested in reading it:

Source
The historical timeline of banditry in the North West of Nigeria is indeed over 100 years old and I FACT older than 150 years old based off of the iconic book entitled "History of Nigeria" by Sir Allan Burns who was the FIRST EVER Governor-General to Gold Coast and the substantive Governor-General of Nigeria.


In that history book by Sir Allan Burns (of which I have one that was purchased in 1947 in my home library) CLEARLY talked about Colonial records detailing how the Northern roads were NOT safe at all due to high banditry as of the 1910s and 1920s. Many traders and merchants lost their lives to these bandits and when some Europeans lost their lives to those Northern Nigeria bandits
, the British Colonialists had to send the usual punitive expedition to wipe off the bandits. However, the banditry on several indigenous Nigerian communities by especially foreign Fula militia bandits has continued right into 2025.
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by 3seriez(m): 2:02am On Dec 04, 2025
Redoil:
lies were you there or just to make people think you making sense
Then go and do your own report and stop disparaging someone's work.
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by 3seriez(m): 2:04am On Dec 04, 2025
chrisxxx:
Banditry survived Islam in its early years. Banditry started in Medina. Islam grew like wild fire based on goods stolen on the route of Medina from Arabian and European traders. Banditry and Islam are 5&6.
🤣🤣😂 You guys and beer parlour gist ehn 😂
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by gaskiyamagana: 10:11am On Dec 04, 2025
henlooma80:
Congratulations to them. They should continue.
To theirs problem and difficulties alone or to all of us? I mean the name Nigeria.
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by Truejihadistont: 5:26pm On Dec 04, 2025
nairalanda1:
He is explaining how it started, he is not saying that tinubu is excused from solving it.

One mistake USA made in invading Afghanistan is that they did not study the past experiences of the UK and the Russians there. That's how they wasted 20 years there and achieved nothing except to keep the seat warm for the same Taliban they removed

To solve a problem, understand how it started. Understanding how it started does not mean tinubu should sit down and let us suffer. Even if we want to blame past leaders and circumstances, it still does not change the fact that tinubu is in charge and it is his problem to solve. Qed
I still maintain that's not a summary. What's my business with tinubu?
Re: A Summary Of How Banditry Started In Zamfara State by Maryiah(f): 3:58pm On Dec 07, 2025
tiswell:
What's the essence of this info?



Let the daed bury the daed,simple
It's expository to see how some just choose to spoil their region's life.
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