Residents of Zauma community in Bukuyum Local Government Area of Zamfara State have accused Governor Dauda Lawal Dare of failing to protect them from relentless bandit attacks.
Their anger follows a fresh assault on Birnin Zarma village, where armed men stormed the community at dawn, killing a man, injuring his wife, and abducting 18 women and children.
Witnesses said the gunmen arrived around 5am as villagers prepared for morning prayers. After shooting the man and wounding his wife, they marched captives out of the settlement, leaving families in fear and despair.
Locals believe the attackers came from Anka district, where bandits maintain camps in nearby forests. Security forces stationed in Bukkuyum were unable to intervene, as a swollen river cut off access and no boats were available.
For many, the episode highlights failures in logistics and planning. Residents say it shows a lack of seriousness from the state government in safeguarding rural communities.
What has deepened the sense of betrayal, however, is the silence from the governor’s office. Since the raid, Dauda Lawal Dare has neither visited the victims nor sent representatives to show solidarity.
“The people have been left to their fate,” one community elder said. “This is not leadership. It is abandonment.”
Zauma residents warn that life in Birnin Zarma and surrounding villages is fast becoming untenable. They insist that without federal intervention, entire communities could be wiped out.
They accuse the state government of failing in its constitutional duty to protect lives and property. Instead, they say, the governor has remained distant and disengaged, offering no real solutions to a crisis that has devastated Zamfara for years.
The statement from Zauma is both a condemnation and an appeal. It condemns Governor Dauda for “total neglect” and urges President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene directly in Zamfara.
For villagers across Bukuyum, Anka, and Gummi, the demand is urgent: the killings, abductions, and displacement must end. Without decisive action, they fear their communities will not survive.