Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A 55-year-old woman, Fatima, has painted a harrowing picture of life under bandit siege in Zamfara State, describing how residents are trapped between the terror of being shot while fleeing or abducted if they remain. Her account, given in an interview with the BBC, lays bare the brutal reality of a region where communities have been systematically emptied and survival has become a daily gamble.
Fatima recounted that bandits attacked her community at about 2 a.m., splitting into three groups to encircle the village and cut off any escape. One group blocked the entrance, another moved into the community, and a third positioned itself behind to prevent residents from running. "If you run into a room, they set the room on fire, and if you come out and try to run, they shoot you," she said. The attackers arrived in overwhelming numbers, with as many as 100 motorcycles, each carrying about three armed men.
The devastation in Bia Buki village in June was catastrophic. Fatima said about 70 people, including children, were killed. Among the dead were her husband and six of her seven siblings. She fled with other residents into a nearby forest, which became their only refuge. "We ran with our children. If you could not find your own child, you would carry your neighbour's child," she said. The displaced survivors eventually made their way to Gusau, the state capital, where Fatima now lives in a temporary camp with her seven children, aged between nine and 30.
Life in the camp is a daily struggle. Fatima described conditions as extremely difficult, with barely adequate shelter, insufficient food, and only occasional assistance. "We were wealthy when there was peace, but things have changed and we have become beggars," she said, breaking down in tears. The desperation has even led to children being sent out to gather firewood for sale, but bandits allegedly abducted 22 of those children. Even though the camp is about 25 kilometres from her home community, the fear of bandit attacks remains. "When I first arrived at the camp, the sound of gunshots at night prevented me from sleeping," she said.
Fatima is among an estimated 800,000 people displaced by the conflict in north-western Nigeria. Despite the deployment of security forces and vigilante groups, she remains uncertain about returning home. She was told that bandits have established a camp close to her community and that one of their leaders has become a de facto authority, with families sometimes approaching him to settle domestic disputes. Some neighbouring villages have been completely deserted. "One nearby village has become completely deserted. There is not even a chicken left there," she said.
Her words are a stark testament to the utter desolation inflicted by banditry. "Even if you return, you will only find hardship. There is nothing there, no food," she warned. For Fatima and countless others, the choice between staying in a camp and returning to a ghost town offers no solace—only the grim reality of a life forever shattered by terror.
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