We have experienced a lot of problems regarding insecurity in Moriki. Since the previous administrations, we have been experiencing threats and problems. Bandits invaded the community on a daily basis.
They usually come during night and evening hours, sometimes including early morning hours, and they come with sophisticated weapons that we never thought we would see in real life. That scared us to the extent that some people moved from the outskirts to the main town. Some left entirely for other locations, including the state capital.
If you can recall, in the last two years, a 50 million naira levy was imposed on us by bandits, and that’s not the only one. We had to pay different amounts at different times because the government cannot do anything about it.
I don’t want to leave my community, and I want to ensure my family are alive, and that’s why I sourced locally made guns and made sacrifices to do this sakai (vigilante) work.
In terms of the loss, I can only say “innalillahi wa’inna ilaihi raji’un” because a lot has happened, even though we’ve dedicated our lives day and night to protecting the community since the insurgency is nonstop.
The most terrible day and a day to always remember was one terrific incident that happened to me, and I still never believe how lucky I was to escape from there alive.
There was a day we sat down, two colleagues and I, on the outskirts of the town, and we were not prepared for any work or set for the daily routine. Most of our colleagues were at home. Some were busy doing their own personal work, preparing to meet where we spent the night guarding the community. Suddenly, we saw lights far away coming toward us from two different angles and instantly I asked my colleagues to look around; it seemed like some people were coming toward us.
One of my colleagues lit his own torch. As he did, bullets started coming from all over. We were devastated and one of us was even without his own gun.
Instantly, we fired back and looked for where to hide. There were rocks beside us and two of us jumped over there. The other one tried to run to where we were, and they shot him. One bullet hit his shoulder and another one his ribs. He died.
We continued hiding. Unknown to the other one beside me, his leg was slightly exposed and they shot him in his leg. I was really scared then, but I kept shooting, trying to save my friend. With God’s intervention, they ceased fire briefly and I got the chance to sneak and run into the town. While running, I met my colleagues and soldiers from the military base in Moriki, who heard the gunshots and they forced them to leave.
We took my friend to the hospital that very night, and in the early hours of the morning we also lost him. We buried both of them with our hands.
That’s the incident I will never forget in my life. Sometimes, even if I am sleeping, I remember the situation; it’s become like a nightmare to me.
Even though many times we killed many of them, I still have in my mind that I have to take revenge for the loss of my two best friends. This incident was last year during the rainy season. It was less than a year ago.
What I am most interested in doing is farming and that is my work, but currently, I don’t have any feelings about going back to farming, considering how people are being killed on their farms on a daily basis. Even if banditry is ending now, my intention is to look for any alternative business to do besides farming.
As narrated by: Ibrahim Kabiru – 34 (Moriki, Zurmi, Zamfara).
This snippet is published as part of the series, What We Lost to the Bandits.
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