Bandits Demand N10million, AK-47, Motorcycles From Zamfara Community To Allow Residents Remain In Village

 

Entire families, including children and the elderly, have reportedly begun a journey of displacement, walking under the harsh sun with little certainty about their destination.

Residents of Mai Tukunya in Dansadau district, Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State, have begun fleeing their homes after armed bandits issued a final ultimatum demanding ₦10 million, an AK-47 rifle, and three Honda motorcycles as conditions for allowing them to remain in the village.

Entire families, including children and the elderly, have reportedly begun a journey of displacement, walking under the harsh sun with little certainty about their destination.

According to a security analyst, Bakatsine, a resident explained the impact of the demand on families who have lived under continuous threats for over a decade.

“For a population that has spent more than a decade struggling under constant threats, the demand was not only unrealistic but devastating,” the security expert said.

“Many families had already been pushed into poverty by years of violence. Farms had become unsafe, businesses collapsed and livelihoods disappeared. The wealth they once had slowly faded into hardship, leaving behind hunger, fear and uncertainty.”

The same resident described the daily risks faced by the community before the ultimatum.

“Life in the community had become a daily gamble with death. At any moment, armed men could storm into homes, subjecting women and girls to sexual violence,” the report said.

“Men risked being killed or abducted simply for traveling to markets or tending their farms. Parents sent their children to school with the constant fear that they might never return.”

Residents said they were sometimes advised to “defend themselves,” although they had neither weapons nor training to confront heavily armed attackers.

One displaced family member detailed the choice to leave as the only available option.

“With no viable options left, the people chose survival over stubborn attachment to land. Entire families children, mothers, the elderly and the most vulnerable began a painful journey into displacement,” the report said.

Reports indicated that many families walked for hours on foot, some while observing the fast of Ramadan.

Exhaustion reportedly affected the group, and several did not know where they would reach. Those who remained behind faced life-threatening conditions.

The security analyst explained that the situation in Mai Tukunya reflects broader insecurity in the region.

“Their story reflects a deeper national crisis. Across the region, insecurity has made roads unsafe, homes uncertain, and schools vulnerable to attacks and mass abductions. Communities that once thrived are now emptying as fear replaces hope,” the analyst said.

SOURCE: SAHARA REPORTERS