2.3.7. Zamfara

2.3.7. Zamfara

Zamfara state is comprised of the following 14 LGAs: Anka, Bakura, Birin Magaji (or Birnin Magaji/Kiyaw), Bukkuyum, Bungudu, Chafe, Gummi, Gusau, Kaura Namoda, Maradun, Maru, Shinkafi, Talata Mafara, Zurmi. The capital city is Gusau.1190

The two main ethnic groups are the Hausa and the Fulani. Other ethnic groups in Zamfara State include the Gwari, Kamuku, Kambari, Dukawa, Bussawa, Zabarma, Igbo, Yoruba, Kanuri, Nupe, and the Tiv. While Islam is the predominant religion in the state, there are also Christians and followers of indigenous religions.1191

UNFPA and the US Census Bureau projected the population at 5 833 500 in 2022, based on figures from the 2006 census.1192

a) Conflict dynamics and main actors

For a general overview on actors in Nigeria, please see section 1.1 Main Actors.

In June 2025, IOM reported a multi-dimensional crisis in Nigeria's North-West, with long-standing tensions between ethnic and religious groups leading to attacks and banditry.1193 As of July 2024, one third of the North-West’s 20 000 to 30 000 armed bandits were reported to be in Zamfara state.1194 Between 2019 and October 2024, Zamfara was among the five states most affected by inter-group clashes between bandit groups.1195 Amnesty International reported that between May 2023 and May 2025, over 273 people were killed by bandits in the state. 725 villages across 13 LGAs were controlled by bandit/criminal groups,1196 who have reportedly established bases in remote parts of various north-western states, including Zamfara.1197 Armed groups reportedly pressured individuals into paying taxes by threatening to kill,1198 abduct, forcibly evict or hurt them,1199 with some civilians killed for refusing to pay.1200

During the reference period, abductions of civilians,1201 including mass abductions1202 and abductions leading to civilian deaths were reported in Zamfara state.1203

In early 2024, the vigilante force Zamfara state community protection guards,1204 also known as Askarawa, was formed.1205 Previously banned due to violence concerns, the new vigilante force has undergone training to prevent such issues.1206 Some government airstrikes against bandits resulted in civilian deaths.1207 Revenge attacks by bandits and armed groups were also reported.1208

The jihadist group Lakurawa was active1209 and present in Zamfara state,1210 specifically in Gummi-Gusau.1211

Sources also reported IED explosions in Zamfara state during the reference period.1212

b) Security incidents and impact on the population

For the period between 1 January 2024 and 31 August 2025, ACLED recorded 760 security incidents (defined as battles, explosions/remote violence, violence against civilians, and riots) in Zamfara state, which resulted in 2 806 fatalities. Of these incidents, 439 were coded as incidents of violence against civilians, 277 were coded as battles, 31 as explosions/remote violence, and 13 as riots.1213

Security incidents were recorded by ACLED in all 14 LGAs of the state, with the highest number documented in Tsafe (145), followed by Gusau (91), Maru (82), Zurmi (68) and Kaura Namoda (66). According to ACLED, Zamfara communal militia (coded as either ‘Actor 1’ or ‘Actor 2’) were involved in the majority of incidents coded as violence against civilians.1215

Zamfara state was the most dangerous state in Nigeria in 2024, according to Nigeria Watch, with 19.52 fatalities per 100 000 inhabitants, primarily due to banditry.1216 Nigeria Watch also noted an increase in fatalities resulting from rural banditry, cattle rustling and government counter-operations across the country in 2024, with Zamfara state accounting for 394 of the about 1 452 deaths, including of civilians, recorded in nine states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).1217 ACLED ranked Zamfara as the second state with the highest number of security incidents (defined as battles, explosions/remote violence, violence against civilians, and riots) during the reference period, after Borno state ranking first.1218

Between July 2023 and June 2024, the state experienced 132 of the country's 1 130 abduction incidents and accounted for 1 639 of the 7 568 victims, including 146 civilian fatalities, making it the Nigerian state most affected by abductions in that period.1219 In 2024, Zamfara was the state with the second-highest number of abduction victims (421)1220 and abductions in the state reportedly increased by 156 % compared to the foregoing 4-year average.1221 Amnesty International reported that over 467 individuals were abducted in Zamfara between May 2023 and May 2025.1222

In May 2024, armed men attacked Bilbis in Tsafe LGA and three villages in Birin Magaji LGA, resulting in 20 deaths and seven injuries. Over 100 people were abducted for ransom.1223 In December 2024, unidentified men raided Kakin Dawa village in the Maradun LGA, abducting over 50 women and children.1224 In May 2025, an armed group killed four women and abducted 20 residents in the Kaura Namoda LGA.1225 In April 2024,1226 as well as in January1227 and June 2025, government attacks from the air targeting bandits were reported to have accidentally killed civilians.1228

Conflict-related infrastructure damage - An October 2024 Africa Center for Strategic Studies report noted that attacks by criminal groups have resulted in looting of medical supplies and the razing or occupying of medical facilities in some north-western states, including Zamfara. Some facilities reportedly shut down as a result of insecurity. The source noted that healthcare access in Zurmi, Maru, Bungudu, Tsafe, Birnin Magaji, Gusau East, and Shinkafi LGAs had disappeared for almost two years as a result, forcing people to receive healthcare in other places inside or outside the country. Activities of bandits and a related worsening of the security situation also forced the mentioned LGAs to shut schools for over two years, with 168 schools remaining shut in Zamfara state as of October 2024. Also, large areas of ‘farmlands have become inaccessible or deserted due to displacements, producing very little output. Where people can farm, a substantial portion of their harvests go to the criminal groups’.1229

Road security - Criminal groups in Zamfara state were reportedly engaging in grand larceny along major highways,1230 with bandits planting landmines on roads to block government forces’ accessing during attacks.1231 In May 2025, Amnesty International reported that bandit groups were preventing farmers in the Dangulbi district of the Maru LGA from accessing the nearest markets to sell their harvest.1232 Blocked by bandits, residents in Anka LGA's Bagega and Kawaye districts were cut off from the outside world for weeks in late April and early May 2025.1233

Displacement, movement and return - According to IOM, the conflict in the north-western states of Nigeria has worsened, leading to widespread displacement throughout the region.1234 According to the October 2024 Africa Center for Strategic Studies report, criminal groups’ establishment of bases in remote parts of Zamfara and other north-western states has led to civilian displacement.1235 As of February 2025, IOM estimated the number of IDPs in Zamfara state at 216 885 compared to 191 055 as of November 2024.1236 UNHCR, as of August 2025, estimated the number of IDPs in Zamfara state at 216 968.1237 IOM lists armed banditry/kidnapping (79 %), insurgency (12 %) and communal clashes (9 %) as the main reasons for displacement in the state.1238 The IMDC reported 295 000 cases of internal displacements resulting from conflict and violence in Nigeria in 2024, of which almost 123 000 occurred in three north-western states, including Zamfara.1239 The Africa Center for Strategic Studies in October 2024 attributed 100 % of displacements in Zamfara state to criminal group activity.1240 In an attack by armed bandits on 24 June 2025 on six locations in Bukkuyum and Gummi LGAs in Zamfara state, 6 245 individuals, including a high number of children, were displaced.1241 According to a May 2025 Nigerian Tribune article, there were no camps for the IDPs in Zamfara state.1242

No information could be found on returns in Zamfara state during the reference period.

c) State response in maintaining law and order

Offensives against bandits were carried out by vigilantes1243 and the government during the reference period,1244 including government airstrikes.1245 Regarding Lakurawa activity, the government also reportedly carried out raids on communities and counter-operations in 2024.1246 Sources also reported security operation during the reference period, which resulted in abduction victims being released.1247 Non-military government efforts in late August 2025 reportedly led to the release of over 142 abduction victims.1248

The Zamfara State parallel House of Assembly criticised state’s governor Dauda Lawal in May 2025 for failing to fulfil electoral campaign promises to end armed banditry and allow insecurity to grow and leaving IDPs with nowhere to go.1249 The same month, communities in Bagega and Kawaye districts of Anka LGA, expressing desperation due to ineffective government intervention, initiated direct negotiations with bandits.1250 On a similar note, the Africa Center for Strategic Studie reported in October 2024 that some villages in Zamfara ‘having lost confidence in the government’s ability to come to their aid’, were paying criminal groups protection money, noting that those who cannot pay are subjected to attacks.1251 In contrast to this, some sources cited Zamfara state governor Dauda Lawal as saying security has improved.1252 In early September 2025, he reportedly stated that his main problem in tackling banditry in Zamfara state was that he did not have direct control over the security agencies, which received their orders from the federal government. A Daily Trust article cited unspecified sources as saying that poor road conditions were helping the bandits and seriously hindering the security forces' ability to access affected areas promptly.1253

In January 2025, at least 16 civilians were killed in Zamfara state in a military air strike, apparently after being mistaken for criminal gangs; the Nigerian Air Force indicated that it ‘“views with grave concern reports of the loss of civilian lives in the course of the operation" and that a ‘"comprehensive investigation"’ would be carried out and it would be ‘"communicated to inform and reassure the public"’.1254 Human Rights Watch indicated that investigations into airstrikes by the Nigerian military have yet to produce results and that the military continue facing accusations of further erroneous strikes.1255