Odita Sunday 
By Osdita Sunday
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in Zamfara State following the latest massacre of at least 23 farmers in Sauna/Ruwan Gora community, Talata Mafara Local Government Area.
The rights group described the attack as another tragic reminder that terrorists have continued to unleash violence across the state with little resistance, leaving residents to live in fear.
In a statement issued on Friday by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, HURIWA expressed sympathy with the bereaved families and the people of Zamfara, who it said have suffered years of killings, kidnappings, destruction of communities and mass displacement.
The association said the latest attack was not an isolated incident but part of an unrelenting wave of terror that has persisted for more than a decade despite several military operations and huge security spending.
According to HURIWA, Amnesty International recently reported that hundreds of people have been killed and abducted in Zamfara over the last two years, while hundreds of communities have been overrun by armed bandits operating across the state’s 13 local government areas.
It also cited data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), referenced by the European Union Agency for Asylum, which recorded about 760 violent incidents and roughly 2,806 deaths in Zamfara between January 2024 and August 2025.
The association further pointed to reports by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which documented repeated mass displacement across the state, including the displacement of nearly 8,800 residents during attacks in Gummi Local Government Area in June this year.
HURIWA said the figures underscore the collapse of security in the state and called for urgent constitutional intervention.
It argued that if emergency constitutional measures could be adopted to address political challenges elsewhere, similar action should be taken where thousands of lives have been threatened by sustained terrorist violence.
The group urged the President to temporarily allow the Federal Government to assume direct coordination of security operations in Zamfara, intensify military and intelligence activities, restore government authority in affected communities and guarantee the safety of residents.
It, however, maintained that any declaration of emergency must comply with the Constitution, remain temporary and be subject to legislative oversight.
HURIWA also blamed the rise of notorious bandit kingpin Bello Turji partly on previous peace deals with armed groups, saying such initiatives enabled some criminal leaders to regroup and strengthen their networks instead of embracing peace.
The association called for sustained military offensives, stronger intelligence gathering, tighter border security, prosecution of terror financiers, protection of farming communities, humanitarian support for displaced persons and thorough investigations into allegations of official collaboration with criminal groups.
”The time for half measures has passed. Zamfara deserves peace. Nigerians deserve security. The Constitution demands no less,” the statement said.
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