In a chilling display of unchecked dominance, terrorists have effectively seized control over several rural communities in Zamfara State, operating openly with assault rifles, imposing financial levies on residents, and even participating in Friday congregational prayers while heavily armed.
Residents of Dayau in Anka Local Government Area and Dolen Moriki in Zurmi Local Government Area describe a daily reality where terrorists move through villages without concealment, AK-47s slung over their shoulders, enforcing their authority in the near-total absence of government security forces.
According to terrified locals who spoke under condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, the terrorists routinely demand and collect “levies” — essentially protection payments or punitive taxes — from households, farmers, and traders.
Failure to comply reportedly triggers violent punishments, including killings, abductions, or outright bans on accessing farmlands, which remain the primary source of livelihood in these agrarian areas.
“The terrorists come around like they own the place,” one resident from Dayau recounted.
“They collect money from everyone — sometimes weekly, sometimes whenever they feel like it. If you don’t pay, they threaten to burn your house or worse.
And now they even join us for Jumu’ah prayers with their guns visible. No one dares challenge them.”
Eyewitness accounts further reveal that the terrorists attend Friday prayers at local mosques fully armed, normalizing the sight of heavy weaponry in sacred and communal spaces.
This brazen behavior has deepened a sense of helplessness among villagers, who say state security personnel are either completely absent or make only fleeting appearances that often provoke fiercer retaliation once troops withdraw.
“Any time soldiers come for an operation and leave, the terrorists return angrier,” another resident from Dolen Moriki explained.
“They punish the whole community — beat people, seize livestock, destroy crops. So now we just try to survive by giving them what they want. It’s like living under occupation.”
The situation underscores a broader collapse of governance and security in Nigeria’s northwest, where terrorist groups have exploited vast ungoverned forests and weak state presence to establish parallel rule in rural zones.
Communities report providing food, cash, and even logistical support to avoid massacres or displacement, creating a forced, fragile coexistence.
Security analysts note that the open display of arms during religious gatherings represents a profound erosion of civilian authority and a direct challenge to state sovereignty.
Despite periodic military operations in Zamfara — including recent efforts by troops under Operation FANSAN YAMMA that have neutralized some terrorists and recovered weapons — the groups continue to regroup and reassert control in remote villages.
Neither the Zamfara State government nor federal security agencies have issued an immediate public response to the latest reports of terrorist dominance in Dayau and Dolen Moriki.
Residents, meanwhile, continue to live in fear, praying for meaningful intervention before the situation deteriorates further into widespread humanitarian catastrophe.
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As one elder summed up the grim reality: “We go to the mosque to seek peace from God, but the terrorists bring their war right there with them. Where is the government?”
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