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Amnesty International has condemned the killing of a family of 12 who were burnt alive by bandits at Gidan Taba village in Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
According to residents, the incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday after the gunmen invaded the community in Dosara Birnin Kaya Ward, killing the family members and abducting several other residents.
In a statement, Amnesty said the attack once again exposed the utter failure of the Nigerian authorities to end over a decade of bloody security crisis in Zamfara.
The organisation noted that previous military interventions have failed to stop the killings, especially in rural communities, leaving villagers helpless and constantly living in fear of the next attack.
According to Amnesty, villagers described a pattern in which they sometimes receive warnings ahead of attacks, including phone calls ordering them to pay huge sums of money or be killed or abducted.
“After every attack villagers bury their dead and brace up for the next attack,” Amnesty said.
It lamented that the crisis in Zamfara is making life hell for villagers, yet appears to be low on the list of government priorities.
Amnesty called for an immediate end to the killings and demanded that those suspected of criminal responsibility be brought to justice in fair trials.
“The Nigerian authorities have a responsibility to protect the lives of everybody in the country, including people in poor and rural communities,” it added.
