Bandits have killed 11,000 men, turned over 22,000 women to widows in Zamfara state

The senator representing Zamfara Central, Kabiru Marafa, has decried the spate of bandtry in Zamfara state in the past nine years, which he said have claimed the lives of over 11, 000 men.

Marafa, who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), said this in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja on Sunday.

He appreciated his colleagues in the two chambers of the National Assembly for providing N10bn in the 2019 budget to address the humanitarian disaster in the state.

According to Marafa, the “unfortunate and dark eight years of banditry from 2011 to date in Zamfara has conservatively led to the killing of over 11,000 male adults, leaving behind an estimated average of 22,000 widows – at two wives per person – and an estimated 44,000 orphans at an average of four children per deceased.”

The senator lamented that, in terms of casualty ratio and displacements, Zamfarais the worst hit by killings in the North-East and North-Central

He expressed confidence that the N10bn would help in resettling the Internally Displaced Persons and others affected by activities of the bandits.

To ensure efficient management of the fund, Marafa urged the Federal Government to set up an ad hoc committee to be known as Presidential Initiatives on Zamfara State with a 10-year lifespan, which will be continuously funded to complete restore the crisis=ridden state.