Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Institute of Security Nigeria has declared a national emergency over the escalating wave of terrorism and banditry across the country, condemning in the strongest terms the reported imposition of a N50 million levy and a demand for 100 livestock by non-state actors at Talata Mafara Market in Zamfara State. In a statement signed by its Deputy President and Chief Executive, Barrister Adebayo Akinade, and made available to journalists in Kaduna on Monday, September 14, 2026, the institute described the development as an "act of war against the Nigerian state and its people".
According to the ISN, the terrorists stormed the open market in Talata Mafara Local Government Area and issued a seven-day ultimatum to traders and residents, warning that they must meet the demands or face another attack. The institute noted that the ultimatum had since expired, leaving the community in a state of fear and uncertainty. Residents who spoke to our correspondent described the demand as the culmination of months of unchecked violence, during which terrorists have seized farmlands, rustled cattle, and killed farmers without facing any decisive response from security forces. "They have taken our farmlands and rustled our cattle, but we have not seen any serious response from the security agencies. Now they have become so bold that they can enter our market and give us a deadline to bring them money and animals," one resident said.
The ISN said the continued activities of terrorists, bandits and kidnappers were destroying lives, livelihoods, farms and markets while creating a parallel criminal economy capable of undermining national security and economic stability. The institute stressed that kinetic operations alone could not defeat the threat, calling for an urgent whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach. It urged the Federal and State Governments to declare banditry levies and market invasions as terrorism and economic sabotage, requiring decisive joint operations. The ISN also called for the approval of a state-led Security Coordination Framework linking federal security forces, state security outfits and vetted community guards.
In a series of recommendations, the institute urged the government to equip frontline states, including Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, Niger, Kaduna and Plateau, with tactical mobility assets, drones, night-vision equipment and attack helicopters. It advocated a shift towards predictive and intelligence-led policing, including the infiltration of criminal logistics networks and the dismantling of structures involved in the collection of levies and cattle rustling. It also recommended the reintroduction of regulated livestock markets and the establishment of a two-hour rapid-response protocol supported by visible air patrols.
The institute further called on communities to strengthen early-warning systems and establish local peace and security forums involving traditional rulers, farmers, market unions and faith-based organisations. It urged citizens to reject ransom and levy payments and to report suspected criminal activities to security agencies. The ISN's intervention comes amid growing concerns over the security situation in Zamfara State, where bandits have escalated their operations in recent months, killing dozens of residents, abducting others, and imposing extortionist levies on communities. The Talata Mafara market invasion is the latest in a series of attacks that have exposed the fragility of the security architecture in Nigeria's North-West. For the people of Talata Mafara, the seven-day ultimatum was not just a threat; it was a reminder that the state has lost control of vast swathes of its territory to criminal groups who now act as de facto authorities, collecting taxes and dictating terms to the very citizens the government is supposed to protect.
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