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Zamfara Killings: Senate to make N10b available as intervention fund for affected communities

The Nigerian Senate has resolved to make N10 billion available in the 2019 budget to alleviate the suffering of the affected communities in Zamfara crisis.
Bukola Saraki
Bukola Saraki

This decision was taken following a motion sponsored by Kabiru Marafa (APC, Zamfara Central) representing Zamfara central.

At the start of plenary, Marafa was reported to have presented a motion on “the need to create an intervention fund to cater for Internally Displaced Persons and other persons affected by the activities of armed bandits in Zamfara State.”

Marafa also praised Nigerians who came out to protest against the killings and destruction of properties in Zamfara.

The lawmaker also praised the protesters for showing solidarity by ignoring their religious and tribal differences while protesting against banditry in the North-west state.

However, Marafa lamented that despite the effort made to curb the crisis, the activities of the bandits remain unabated.

He said since 2011, over 11,000 male adults have been killed in the state adding that casualty ratio shows that Zamfara remains far ahead of other states in the North-east and North-west affected by violent attacks.

Marafa also maintained that killings and kidnappings are now a daily affair in the state.

Also reacting to killings in Zamfara, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki said the lawmakers need to at the cause of the problem and proffer long-term solutions.

He said: “I think we did that yesterday trying to strengthen the police and what we have before us, the Police Reform Bill which will be laid today.

“The sooner we pass that, it would help us in addressing this issue. And more importantly, is that we must still go back to what a lot of us have been advocating here. There is a need for us to have state or community police because it is a way forward.

”Otherwise, we will continue to run into these problems. On the area of oversight, there is a lot also that we need to do to ensure that we hold the security agents accountable and we need to move very fast this year.”

Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday, April 6, 2019 reacted to the crisis in Zamfara saying the senseless killings in the state makes him sad.

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