By Chioma Okezie-Okeh
Sani, Mubarak and Ahmed are natives of Zamfara State. They claimed they were forced to run from the state to escape death in the hands of bandits. They were spotted at a market in Ajao Estate in Lagos trying to figure out how to survive.
They shared their story with Saturday Sun.
Mubarak is a native of Nasarawa, Birni-Magaji area of Zamfara while Sani is from Moriki in Shinkafa area. Ahmed claimed he hails from Kurar-Mota.
They said shutting down telecommunication facilities in the state has actually worsened their situation and subjected them to the total control of bandits.
Ahmed, who could barely understand English, told Saturday Sun with the aid of an interpreter that he fled the bandits camp at Kurar-Mota a week after he was forced to join them. “Our area is very large, so most times when they come, the military on patrol will be very far trying to cover other areas where they were called.
“About two weeks ago, they came to my village. After killing and stealing form us, they dragged some of us into the bush. They told us to join them or we would die. About 20 of us were dragged into the forest, including four girls. The girls were sent to the kitchen area where they cook for their commanders. They have plenty women and children who are their family members.
They kept beating us for three days without food until we totally agreed to join them and was sent for training. I grew in the village and my father was a hunter. I normally follow him to hunt, so I knew the forest very well. During our training, we slept on top of trees while they stayed down to watch us. On the fifth day after I was captured, I decided to escape at night. I told one boy called Muni of my plans and he agreed to follow me. Unfortunately he was caught and killed immediately. I was hiding and saw everything. I waited till the next day when they all went for raid before I started running again. I passed several camps before I got to a military checkpoint. It was there that I boarded a truck going to Lagos. They begged the driver to help me for free. If they found out that I went back home, they might come back for me. I am from a responsible family and we promised our father before he was killed that we would never join them. I don’t even know how I will survive in Lagos and I will love to go home one day. My wife gave birth to a baby boy two weeks before I was captured.”
Also relying on the help of an interpreter, Sani claimed that he abandoned two wives and six children and fled because that was the only option. “I was in the farm when they attacked us. They packed everything that we harvested from the farm that day while we fled. Unfortunately, they caught my uncle and killed him. We managed to trek to town where I joined a lorry taking bags of beans to Lagos. I had no plans of leaving but what choice do I have? They have taken over my community.
“Two of my daughters who are 13 and 14 were forcefully taken away by the bandits. Just like the other girls that were taken, they were all forced into marriage.
“It is so bad that when they come, they overpower us and force our women to cook for them. They will sit down and wait while some of them will drag our wives into the room and rape them. They don’t care and if you as a man dare to make a move, you will be killed. This is our story and there is nothing anyone can do about it.”
Insisting that the bandits are mostly Fulani, Sani claimed that it was easy to identify them by their language. “I know that other tribes are among them but the ones who have been attacking us are Fulani men. It got worse now that all form of communication has been cut off. There is no way to alert the police or the military or even our vigilantes. There is no police station in our area and since the network was cut off, we have not seen any military patrol. I fled because it is a matter of time before they kill all the eligible men who refused to join them.
“I left my wives and children because their chances of survival are high. They will only marry them but the young men are at risk. They are killing us everyday and when they enter our area, they will carry even cooked food and disappear. Government should please restore the network as our people are dying and bandits are now living comfortably among us and have also taken over our wives and daughters.”
Sani was quite confident that he would survive in Lagos. “I never planned to relocate to Lagos because life is not better in Lagos if you are not educated. A lot of our brothers who were doing okada business came back with wounds. But in the village, if you are ready to farm properly, you will make money from farm produce and most importantly have enough food to feed your family.
“I hope to survive in Lagos while I pray for the rest of my family members to survive. I came without a kobo but my town people in Lagos rallied around and raised small money for me. I am still hoping to raise more money and start selling yam or fruits. This will be temporary but I will surely go back when I am sure that I have hope.”
Mubarak, the third man, speaks English fluently, as he had been living in Lagos for some time. He told Saturday Sun that he decided to visit home when he was granted a two-week vacation. “I lost my mother and sister during a crisis that happened in our area four years ago. My father advised me to move to Kaduna State but I got an opportunity to come to Lagos through a family friend.
“I currently work as a personal driver. Two weeks ago, I was granted an opportunity to travel and see my family. I was desperate because ever since government cut off communications, I had not spoken with my father who is 72 years. I was told he has been sick and I wanted to see him.
“My father is a farmer. When I got back, I had to join my other siblings and relatives to farm. We cultivate maize and groundnuts in large quantities.
“Since the invasion of those bandits, all our motorcycles were taken so we had to trek a long distance to the farm. It is only the young ones who can run that are allowed to go to farm these days. In the past, the bandits will allow us to cultivate and they monitor when it is ready for harvest. That is when they would come to the farm to attack farmers. They will wait by the bush till we are done harvesting before they will come in their numbers on motorbikes and pack as much as they can. If we had other sources of feeding, no one would go to the farm.
“Then whenever we get information that they are advancing, we would call the security men or vigilantes who will repel them while we get ready to attack any of them who managed to get to the community.”
Mubarak said the bandits rarely attack them because they now obey their rules and regulations. “Even an eight-year-old child can direct you to where these bandits are located in Birni-Magaji. Everyone in my area knows and simply avoids the area except you are one of them.
“They stopped coming to attack us after our elders met with them. They accessed them through their parents and agreed that we would be paying tax. You are allowed to farm but as soon as you harvest, a certain quantity will be handed over to them or they will take everything away. This was why they stopped coming to attack us openly.
“I fled because they got information that I do not live in the village so they concluded that I am an informant. I was lucky that one of the bandits told my father who asked me to run away, that they were planning to attack my family. This was why I fled and till date I do not know if they really attacked them and what their fate is.
“In the past, they were always fighting over the gold in our land but I can tell you that those areas are better secured than where human beings are living.
“I am begging the Nigerian government to restore communication to our villages except they have abandoned us to our fate.”