Authorities in Nigeria's northwest Zamfara state have offered two cows for each gun surrendered to halt bloody attacks by criminal...
Authorities in Nigeria's northwest Zamfara state have
offered two cows for each gun surrendered to halt bloody attacks by criminal
gangs, including cattle rustlers.
Remote communities across the region have for years been hit
hard by deadly raids from armed groups of motorcycle-riding cattle rustlers and
kidnappers.
Military operations have failed to end the killings and
local officials have repeatedly tried negotiations to broker peace.
Zamfara governor Bello Matawalle on Thursday said that under
the new initiative "for every rifle submitted by a repentant bandit, there
would be compensation of two cows".
Matawalle said the offer of livestock was meant to convince
the gangs, known as "bandits", to disarm without cash payments that
could be used to buy more arms.
There was no indication if the plan would be enough to convince
them to forsake their lucrative cattle rustling and kidnapping rackets.
The unrest in northwest Nigeria, which experts say has been
spurred by overpopulation and climate change, has seen an estimated 8,000
people killed and 200,000 flee their homes since 2011.
President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged a fresh push to end
the killings after a spike in attacks in neighbouring Katsina state.
The "bandits" mainly come from the Fulani ethnic
group that has long relied principally on cattle herding.
Vigilante groups set up by local communities to defend
themselves have been accused of extrajudicial killings that add to the spiral
of killings.
Source
No comments