Amnesty International has urged Nigerian authorities to do more to end the ongoing rampage in Dansadau district by bandits.

Dozens of villages in Dansadau district have been under siege by bandits, with no one getting in or out in the last 10 days.

On Sunday, bandits invaded ‘Yar Gada village and went about specifically setting vehicles on fire, while people fled in all directions. For years, people can only travel on Magami-Dansadau road with military escort.

Residents of some affected villages claimed to have been warned ahead of attacks on the phone and that they have also been asked to pay huge sums of money or risk being killed or abducted.

According to Amnesty, "This is Nigeria’s forgotten conflict. The authorities’ failure to protect has left villagers in Zamfara at the mercy of armed bandits, who have killed hundreds of people over the course of 10 bloody years. The crisis in Zamfara is making life hell for villagers, yet it is clearly low down on the list of government priorities.

"The Nigerian authorities have repeatedly claimed to be tackling the situation, but the mounting death toll tells a different story."

ASA