Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, says his administration is working to improve security response time to attacks, particularly in troubled areas such as Tsafe Local Government Area.
Lawal said the government’s strategy includes improving access to communities through road construction and deploying technology, including drones, to monitor hard-to-reach areas and provide security agencies with timely information.
The governor spoke on Monday during a media chat while responding to questions on the security situation in the state.
He identified Tsafe as one of the areas facing serious security challenges, citing the activities of notorious bandit leader, one Ado Alero, and his gang.
“Everything is based on data. If you asked me this question a few years ago, compared to the number of people being killed on a daily basis prior to 2023, I will tell you the number is reducing significantly. That is one; you can verify that information. The data is there. Even if we don’t have it, we have that data,” he said.
“Two, Tsafe happens to be one of the critical areas where we have a serious security challenge because we have one of the leaders called Ado Alero and his gang that is terrorising that area.
“And what we did yesterday was to try to see how we improve our response time in the event that there’s any attack in any of those areas.”
Road Access For Faster Response
Lawal said poor road access along the Tsafe-Yankuzo axis has made it difficult for security personnel to respond quickly whenever attacks occur.
“That road from Tsafe to Yankuzo is a troublesome area. Whenever there’s any attack, it is very, very difficult for the security to be there within a time frame, and we feel that that road should be constructed,” the governor said.
“That way the response time will be quicker. It will be much faster than you can imagine. So it’s a complete way of saying that look, we’re trying to work on the insecurity in the area and access is key to the kind of response people get within that axis.
“And I can tell you that it (attacks) has gone down drastically. In the past, almost on a daily basis, you hear that 200 people are being killed or a whole village is being wiped and so on and so forth. Go and check the data now; you hardly hear.”
Acknowledging that attacks still occur in some areas, particularly locations that are difficult to access during the rainy season, Lawal said, “There may be some pockets of attack in some of the ungoverned areas, and of course, like now, it’s rainy season.
“Getting to some of those locations is extremely difficult, and that is why we employ the use of technology, like all these drones. You know, we are perfecting the system, but we have started where at least we have information as to what is happening and what kind of response time do we need in the event there’s any attack in any of those areas.”
Recent Attacks
Despite ongoing military counter-offensives and rescue operations, Zamfara State has experienced persistent banditry and terrorist attacks throughout the year, impacting local communities, security personnel, and key transport routes:
In January, five soldiers and a police officer were killed in an ambush in Bungudu LGA, while a July attack on the Bungudu LGA chairman’s residence left two policemen, a vigilante, and a civilian dead before the official was abducted.
February saw 41 total fatalities across attacks in Anka (30 killed) and Tsafe (11 killed) LGAs.
In April, suspected bandits attacked Kurfa community in Bukkuyum Local Government Area, abducting an unspecified number of residents, but security forces said they killed more than 30 suspected bandits in a counter-offensive in Tsafe.
In May, an IED explosion along the Bagega-Anka road killed six people and injured six others.
The chairman of Bungudu Local Government Area was abducted in July after terrorists attacked his residence, killing two policemen, a vigilante and a civilian.
In September, troops rescued 41 travellers abducted after their commercial bus broke down along the Tsafe-Funtua Road, highlighting the security challenges along key routes in the state.
