Zamfara Peace Mission Turns Sour as Bandits Abduct 50 Elders, Gov Lawal Rejects Dialogue with Armed Groups

Tensions have intensified in Zamfara State following the abduction of 50 community elders who were reportedly held hostage by armed bandits after embarking on an unauthorised peace mission to a forest camp in Maradun Local Government Area.

The elders, drawn from Magamin Diddi village, were said to have voluntarily visited a notorious bandit leader identified as Jammo in the Muntsira Forest earlier in June, in an attempt to negotiate peace and secure access to farmlands during the farming season.

However, the initiative ended in crisis when the armed group reportedly detained all 50 delegates, turning what was intended as a reconciliation effort into a mass hostage situation that has since triggered widespread concern across the state.

The incident has reignited debate over how best to address insecurity in Zamfara, with opinions sharply divided between calls for dialogue and continued military pressure.

Reacting to the development, Governor Dauda Lawal firmly disowned the peace mission, insisting that his administration was neither informed nor involved in any such engagement with armed groups.

Speaking in an interview with BBC Hausa, the governor questioned the rationale behind the initiative.

“They did not inform the authority before embarking on such a dangerous step. They are on their own,” Lawal said.

“Who sent them to negotiate? It certainly was not the government. We have consistently stated that we do not support negotiations with terrorists,” he added.

The governor stressed that his administration maintains a strict no-negotiation policy with armed groups, arguing that past reconciliation efforts in the state had failed to produce lasting peace.

According to him, dialogue with bandits only serves to embolden criminal groups and prolong insecurity.

“We have never supported negotiations with terrorists and we will not change that position,” he said.

Lawal added that the government had launched an investigation into the incident while reiterating that security operations remain the central strategy in tackling banditry across the state.

He maintained that while the challenge has not been fully eliminated, his administration has recorded progress in reducing attacks and improving security conditions in some areas.

“Very much so. I am not saying we have achieved 100 percent success, but there has been progress,” the governor noted.

He also linked improved security conditions to increased agricultural activity in parts of the state, arguing that relative stability had allowed some farming activities to resume.

Despite the government’s position, reactions within Zamfara remain divided.

Some residents and stakeholders argue that military action alone has not been sufficient to end years of violence, while others insist that negotiating with armed groups risks legitimising criminal activity and encouraging further attacks.

A local farmer, Alhaji Garba Mohammed, supported the governor’s hardline stance, warning that previous negotiations had failed to produce lasting peace.

“They are never satisfied with whatever the government gives them. Negotiation only empowers them further,” he said.

However, another resident and businessman, Alhaji Mustafa Ibrahim, called for dialogue, arguing that peace agreements in other states had helped reduce violence and restore economic activity.

“We are tired of these atrocities. The government should negotiate so that peace can return,” he said.

Meanwhile, security analysts say the abduction underscores the growing complexity of community-level attempts to resolve insecurity independently, often without state backing.

They warn that such initiatives may expose communities to further risks, especially in volatile regions where armed groups maintain significant territorial influence.

As the 50 abducted elders remain in captivity, uncertainty continues to grip Zamfara, with renewed pressure mounting on authorities to find a lasting solution to the state’s long-running security crisis.