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Thousands of residents living in Magazu and Marke communities in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State have left their properties and fled their homes over the incessant raids and attacks of gunmen and bandits terrorizing the communities.
Findings show that Magazu, one of the biggest wards in Tsafe, is highly deserted with many homes empty.
According to the sources,the people are tired of the unrelenting attacks by gunmen, as a result people began deserting the town on Thursday evening and by Friday morning almost everyone in the town has fled.
Bandits attacks in Tsafe Local Government are more frequent than in other parts of Zamfara, which is plagued by worsening insecurity.
The gunmen, who operate across Nigeria’s north-west region, have killed thousands of people and injured even more. They sack villages, and farmlands, and rustle livestock. They impose levies on communities before they may farm and defaulters are either killed or abducted.
A resident of one of the communities Abubakar Magazu told journalist that the residents agreed to leave where they live to avoid being caught up in the attacks.
“Let me be honest with you, these people will never allow us to rest. They’ve stopped us from going to farms and markets and now, they’ll not even allow us to live in peace.
“On Wednesday, they came to our town immediately after the Iftar (Muslim break of fast) and abducted over 30 residents and looted property. As big as this community is, nobody has more than two goats or any domestic animals in his house because the bandits have stolen them,” he said.
He said the bandits attacked the town again Thursday night but did not abduct anyone.
“We’re always in fear,” he said. “After Wednesday’s attack, we decided to leave the town. Some people started leaving yesterday (Thursday). They attacked again those of us who slept in the town yesterday, but I think they were there to scare us because they took nothing or anyone,” he said.
A youth leader in Tsafe, Samaila Usman, said the residents from Magazu and Marke have been trooping into the local government headquarters as of Friday afternoon.