ABUJA, Nigeria — Armed gunmen stormed a farming community in northwestern Nigeria on Friday, leaving at least 15 people dead, according to an official statement released Saturday.
The deadly raid occurred in the Talata Mafara area of Zamfara state, a region that has endured persistent and deadly violence over the years. No group has stepped forward to claim responsibility for the attack.
Abdullaziz Yari, a national lawmaker representing the district, took to social media to condemn the assault, calling it a “terrorist attack” against the community.
The elected local government chairman overseeing the area, Yahaya Yari — no relation to the lawmaker — was captured on video at the victims’ funeral Friday evening. In an emotional appeal, he urged President Bola Tinubu and the junior defense minister, who comes from the same region, to take action and put an end to the ongoing killings.
This latest attack follows a similar incident earlier this month, when gunmen killed 17 farmers and injured at least 13 others while they were working in their fields in Goron Namaye, another part of Zamfara state.
According to the United Nations, an ongoing insurgency in northern Nigeria has claimed thousands of lives and forced millions of people from their homes. Armed criminal groups operating in the north-central and northwestern parts of the country are known to kidnap people for ransom, extort farming communities, and carry out illegal mining operations.
Despite pledges from the Tinubu administration to bring the crisis under control, the violence has continued unabated.
Last year, Nigeria signed a military cooperation agreement with the United States after a diplomatic dispute in which U.S. officials claimed a “Christian genocide” was underway in the country. Nigeria’s government denied the characterization, and analysts noted that the situation is far more complex — with victims often targeted regardless of their religious background. Nigeria is broadly divided between a Christian-majority south and a Muslim-majority north.
