President Muhammadu Buhari has been asked to declare a State of Emergency in Zamfara State, following continuous attacks on the citizens by armed groups.

A group, comprising of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and academics, made this call in a joint press statement which was made available to Daily Trust Online on Wednesday.

The statement was signed by Prof Jibrin Ibrahim of Centre for Democracy and Development, Abuja, Dr. Abubakar Siddique Mohammed of Centre for Democratic Research and Training, Zaria, Prof Massoud Omar of Centre for Democratic Research and Training, Zaria, Dr. Saluihu Zubairu Mustapha (Department of History), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and Mal. Mohammed Abubakar Nasiru (Department of History), Ahmadu Bello university, Zaria.

The group is insisting that the immediate declaration of State of Emergency will enable the Federal Government initiate a series of actions that would address the crisis in the state.

It lamented that: “In the last few years, Zamfara State has been subjected to massacres and the killing of thousands of innocent citizens, mainly rural folks. The brutality with which these attacks are carried out are unprecedented in recent times in any part of Nigeria.

“The outbreak of riots in Tsafe local government on Saturday 22nd December, 2018, which according to some reports, have led to the deaths of over 100 people in the villages of Asaula, Kwadawa, Dogon Kawo, Mandaba, Yanza, Kulutu,Sakkya and Fegin Dakai, all in eastern Tsafe, has again brought to the fore the issue of insecurity in Zamfara State.

“On Monday, December 24, thousands of scared citizens in the State came out en masse to protest, demanding that the Nigerian State protects them from killers and bandits who have killed over one hundred people in the past two weeks, burnt their houses and destroyed their farmlands and rustled their cattle.”

And the group argued that the government must take action to arrest the situation and prevent the descent into total anarchy, with dire consequences to Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna states and the neighbouring states of Niger Republic.

It said the federal Government must dispatch “special forces to the forests and affected villages to rout out the terrorists and kidnappers.”

“Government should interact frequently with community leaders and other relevant stakeholders in the search for lasting solution to the crisis.”

It also called for: “The renewed commitment of the leadership of the security agencies as part of a renewed effort to accelerate the war against terrorism, insurgency, mass kidnapping  and mass murder.”