Terrorists Sexually Assault Women To Spare Families In Fresh Zamfara Attack

Terrorists sexually assaulted vulnerable women in exchange for their families’ safety in a series of attacks in Zamfara State, Northwest Nigeria, on Wednesday night. 

The terrorist group, led by the Alin Fade gang, abandoned their earlier mission to rustle the remaining cows in the communities and resorted to assaulting the women, taking advantage of their anxiety over the lives of their husbands and children. 

They arrived at Gummi and went to villages in Gwalli ward – Sagon Alhaji Garbe, Sagon Bello, and Bulun. The terrorists gave options to the communities to either lose family members or allow the rape with them for a day. Afraid, the women picked the latter.  

One of the victims, who pleaded anonymity, told HumAngle, “we were afraid of them killing our husbands should we refuse their demand, so we had to submit ourselves and let them in. They got into our pots and stirred the grain.” 

Another victim explained the situation further. She said, “what happened was that our husbands ran away for their lives. We were left at our homes with children crying as sounds of gunshots were greeting our ears. It further made us confused and shattered. These armed men met us and gathered us all. They demanded sex so that we can secure our lives and escape with our husbands’ belongings.”

“Many of us had sex with these people in our rooms, some in the open spaces, others were taken into the bush to dance the tune for the whole day. After the incident, they all left us. This is heartless!” the woman told HumAngle. 

HumAngle reported that at least six different terrorist attacks happened across eight communities on Wednesday, July 14, between 5:30 p.m. (WAT) to 11:45 p.m., in Zamfara, Northwest Nigeria.

The multidimensional attacks left a different story to the victims at the affected villages of Gummi, Zurmi, and Bakura local government areas of the state.

In Bakura local government area, HumAngle investigation confirmed that another gang of terrorists (locally known as Bandits) allegedly led by Shadari group invaded Kurunkudu just a few kilometers away from Bakura Town and attacked the residents. 

Wednesday’s attacks follow a series of several attacks launched in the area. During the attack, two people were injured and one was shot in the heart. 

HumAngle understands that, in this round of the attack, the terrorists sparsely shot at anyone except those who refused them access to the shops and house-to-house search for cows. 

Similarly, in the Zurmi local government area, a local source, Abdulalhi Yusuf Zurmi, said in the late hours of 11:20 p.m. (WAT) on Wednesday, the residents heard heavy gunshots. 

He said, “the report reaching me is that the terrorist group is in Dauran right now [as at 12:20 am]. Soldiers were called, but they refused to go. Dauran to Zurmi is just seven k.m. away.” 

Zurmi lamented that “we need additional security, those at our disposal could not do the needful.”