By Faith Nyasuguta
Leaders in Nigeria’s northwest state of Zamfara have prohibited some economic activities in an effort to counter armed criminal gangs executing massacres and kidnappings for ransom and cattle theft.
The state leadership has thus announced the shutting down of weekly markets and limiting the usage of motorbikes in the evenings and nights.
The state has also prohibited the transportation of livestock into and out of the state. Those bringing cattle into the state must be probed to determine the “genuineness” of the livestock.
Often, the weekly open-air markets are operated in rural areas where the masses gather to operate on basic goods including food, livestock, and even textiles.
Petrol stations have also been directed not to sell over $24 worth of fuel to commercial drivers at once.
According to the authorities, the bandits use these economic activities to advance their violent communal attacks.
For months now, Nigeria is grappling with a growing wave of killings and mass kidnappings for ransom by gunmen.
The authorities, communities, and families seem to be taking desperate measures in the face of the crisis.
