‘I know where bandits are, but I’m powerless’, Zamfara Gov blames Abuja for endless killings

Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State has issued a damning revelation, declaring that he knows the exact hideouts of bandit leaders terrorising the state but cannot act because security agencies stationed in Zamfara only take orders from Abuja.

In a viral video that has set off outrage across the country, the governor lamented that despite having the intelligence needed to crush the criminals, his hands remain tied by federal control.

“I swear to Almighty Allah, wherever a bandit leader is in Zamfara State, I know it. If he goes out, I know,” Lawal said. “With my phone, I can show you where they are today. But we cannot do anything beyond our powers.”

The governor, visibly shaken, recounted how villages are left to bleed while security operatives stand down, waiting for clearance from the centre. He recalled a grim episode in Shinkafi Local Government Area where bandits struck, but soldiers refused to act until orders came from Abuja.

“If today I have the power to give orders to the security agencies, I can assure you, we will end banditry in Zamfara within two months,” he said. “Most of the time I shed tears for my people, because I see the problem but I cannot order the security men to act in time.”

Lawal stressed that despite his lack of command authority, his administration has poured resources into the fight—donating 150 patrol vehicles to security agencies, recruiting thousands of Community Protection Guards, and even hiring 2,000 hunters from Borno and Yobe.

“The politicisation of insecurity is not hurting me as a person; it is destroying Zamfara. Some people do not want us to succeed. But I will not stop trying,” he declared.

Zamfara remains one of the bloodiest theatres of Nigeria’s security crisis, with mass kidnappings, killings, and entire communities forced to flee their homes. Citizens in Gusau, the state capital, have staged repeated protests, accusing leaders of abandoning them to the mercy of ruthless gunmen.

President Bola Tinubu, facing growing criticism over mounting insecurity, has said his government is considering creating state police, as well as deploying drones and forest guards, to reclaim ungoverned spaces. But for residents of Zamfara, the governor’s shocking admission paints a bleak picture: their lives still hang on the balance of delayed decisions from Abuja.