Banditry and Crisis Ethnic Vigilantism in Zamfara State, Nigeria

Zamfara State is facing the double burden of containing armed banditry and taming the excesses of non-state armed actors such as the proscribed Yan Sakai and Yan Bindiga. Data from the Nextier Violent Conflict Database, as presented in figure 1, show that between January 2021 and December 2022, Zamfara State has experienced 1,434 deaths arising from 145 different incidents of banditry, the highest number of death arising from banditry in the entire North West within the period. The inability of governments at all levels, despite various efforts, to contain activities of armed bandits in Zamfara and across the North Western region has led to the proliferation of ethnic vigilante groups. This is because communities resorted to self-help by establishing vigilantes to protect their lives and properties from the nefarious activities of bandits. The proliferation of ethnic vigilantes and the weak capacity of government at all levels to effectively regulate vigilante activities has led to internecine violence in Zamfara State and the entire North West.

This edition of Nextier SPD Policy Weekly reflects on the crisis of vigilantism in Zamfara State and highlights actionable strategies for taming the monsters of banditry and internecine violence occasioned by ethnic vigilantism.

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