Zamfara: Terror kingpin issues 14-day ultimatum, threatens 300 deaths

A terror leader, known as Nasanda, has threatened to avenge the death of his wife, her uncle, and aunt by killing 300 persons in the Talatan-Mafara local government area (LGA) of Zamfara State.

Nasanda, who camps deep within Dumburu forest in the State, said he is giving the government 14 days to compensate him with the sum of N30 million, N10 million per person lost, after which they (government) are to punish ‘Yan Sa Kai vigilante groups and make sure they do not kill Fulanis or ‘bandits’.

The terror kingpin, in an audio recording, narrated how his new bride, her uncle, and aunt were killed by the ‘Yan Sa Kai, a vigilante group outlawed by the State government for extra-judicial killings of Fulanis they accuse of associating with terrorists in the region.

Nasanda pointed out that if it was a matter of money and he wanted to be greedy, he would ask for N50 million per person, but it was just a matter of getting compensated for the injustice done, he claimed. He added that going by the arms he and his group had at their disposal, which was not less than N100 million, it is clear they are not paupers.

“I’m not giving months, but 14 days, for my demands to be met. And we will not attack until they are preparing to farm; then, we will camp in their communities. If our Fulani people are left in peace, we will also leave others in peace. If the government can’t pay the money, I will do what I am used to doing”, he stated.

It was gathered that before the Nasanda family incident, Fulani leaders had complained that at Mafara market, at least seven Fulanis were killed in the past five months.

Recall that in 2021, when Nasanda’s son was killed, he (Nasanda) killed a hundred people in retaliation. In the same year, when the government interfered when he was fighting with Nagala, another ‘bandit,’ it resulted in Nasanda’s kidnapping of students of Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, in the Talatan-Marafa part of the State. He only released his victims after the payment of a huge ransom.

On April 11, 2022, the police announced the release of 39 abductees from terrorists’ enclaves within Zamfara State. The victims, who are indigenes of Bungudu and Maru, were freed from a terror camp in Dabar-Magaji, located at Kadanya forest, between Kaura Namoda and Maradun LGAs.

The banning of the ‘Yan Sa Kai vigilante groups’ activities in 2020 resulted in more terror attacks on Zamfara communities, as citizens complained that there were not enough security personnel to secure their lives.