Abuja: At least 17 farmers were killed and 13 others injured when armed gunmen attacked them while they were working in their fields in northwestern Nigeria’s Zamfara State, local authorities and residents said on Saturday.
The attack took place on Friday in Goron Namaye, a community in the Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State. No group has claimed responsibility for the assault, although attacks by heavily armed criminal gangs, commonly referred to as bandits, have intensified across the region in recent months.
According to local resident Shehu Musa, the farmers were tending to their farmlands when the attackers suddenly opened fire, killing 17 people on the spot. The injured victims were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Sanusi Dosara, Chairman of the Maradun Local Government Area, said the attack was linked to the state government’s refusal to negotiate with the armed groups. In a statement, he urged security forces to dismantle the Bayan-Ruwa enclave in the Maradun forest, which is believed to serve as a hideout for the gunmen.
The violence came just a day after another incident in the area. On Thursday, gunmen reportedly abducted 39 people from the community of Magamin Diddi while residents were meeting with the parents of a suspected bandit leader in an attempt to negotiate peace and address the growing threat of kidnappings.
Nigeria continues to face a severe security crisis, particularly in its northern regions, where armed insurgencies, bandit attacks, and ransom kidnappings have claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions of people. Despite repeated assurances by President Bola Tinubu to improve security, attacks by armed groups remain a major challenge across several states.