A 55-year-old woman identified as Fatima has shared a disturbing account of bandit attacks in Zamfara State, saying residents are often trapped between fleeing and risking being shot or remaining behind and facing abduction.

Speaking to the BBC, Fatima said one nearby community had been completely abandoned because of the violence.

“One nearby village has become completely deserted. There is not even a chicken left there,” she said.

Fatima recalled how bandits attacked her community at about 2am, reportedly splitting themselves into three groups in order to surround the village.

According to her, one group stayed at the entrance, another moved directly into the community, while the third positioned itself behind the village to stop residents from escaping.

“If you run into a room, they set the room on fire, and if you come out and try to run, they shoot you,” she said.

“They kept shooting without mercy; shooting at people indiscriminately.”

She said the attackers sometimes arrived in overwhelming numbers, estimating that during some raids, as many as 100 motorcycles could be seen, with roughly three people riding on each motorcycle.

Fatima claimed that about 70 people, including children, were killed in Bia Buki village in June. She said her husband and six of her seven siblings were among those who lost their lives.

She added that some children were injured while trying to escape through the bush, with some reportedly falling into holes along the way.

After the attack, Fatima said she and other residents fled with their children into a nearby forest, which became their temporary shelter.

“The forest became our shelter. We ran with our children. If you could not find your own child, you would carry your neighbour’s child,” she said.

The displaced residents later travelled to Gusau, the Zamfara State capital, where Fatima now stays in a temporary camp with her seven children, whose ages range from nine to 30.

She described life in the camp as extremely difficult, saying there was inadequate shelter, insufficient food and only occasional assistance.

“We were wealthy when there was peace. But things have changed and we have become beggars,” she said as she broke down in tears.

Fatima said some displaced children were occasionally sent to collect firewood that could be sold to raise money for food. However, she alleged that bandits abducted 22 of the children involved.

Despite the camp being about 25 kilometres from her home community, Fatima said the fear of attacks remained with her.

“When I first arrived at the camp, the sound of gunshots at night prevented me from sleeping,” she said.

She noted that security had improved slightly following patrols by soldiers and government-backed vigilantes, although residents continued to live in fear.

According to the BBC report, Fatima is among an estimated 800,000 people displaced by conflict in north-western Nigeria, with violence and insecurity among the major causes of displacement.

Banditry has become a serious security problem across parts of the North-West, where armed groups frequently use motorcycles to raid communities and attack highways before escaping ahead of the arrival of security forces.

The armed groups have also been accused of kidnapping residents for ransom, looting communities and demanding levies from farmers before allowing them to access their farmland.

In some communities, residents are reportedly forced to pay significant amounts of money to armed groups, effectively giving the bandits considerable control over daily life.

A member of a government-backed vigilante group, who spoke anonymously, said the group had been recruited by the Zamfara State Government to help defend communities.

He said vigilantes sometimes received intelligence about the locations of bandits and confronted them.

“By the help of God, we fight them and defeat them,” he said, adding that he had participated in at least 20 gun battles with bandits.

According to him, communities continued to contact the vigilantes whenever attacks occurred and assistance was needed.

Despite the presence of security forces and vigilante groups, Fatima said she was still unsure whether it would be safe to return home.

She said she had received information that bandits had established a camp close to her community and that one of their leaders had effectively become an authority in the area. According to her, some families reportedly approached the bandit leader to resolve domestic disputes.

Fatima said returning without adequate security would only expose residents to more suffering.

“Even if you return, you will only find hardship. There is nothing there, no food. You farm, but when it is time to harvest, they prevent you from harvesting or abduct you,” she said.

Although Fatima still hopes to return home one day, the possibility of renewed attacks continues to keep her and thousands of other displaced Nigerians away from their communities.

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