Zamfara attack kills 15 as gunmen hit Nigeria farming community

Abuja,UPDATED: Jun 28, 2026 00:08 IST

Gunmen attacked a farming community in northwestern Nigeria on Friday, killing at least 15 people in the latest violence to hit the region, an official said on Saturday. The assault took place in the Talata Mafara area of Zamfara state, which has seen repeated attacks.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. The killings come as violence continues across parts of northern Nigeria despite repeated promises by President Bola Tinubu's administration to bring the crisis under control.

Abdullaziz Yari, a lawmaker representing the district at the national level, described the assault on the community as a "terrorist attack" in a statement on social media. Yahaya Yari, the elected local government chairman for the area and not related to Abdullaziz Yari, appeared in a viral video during the victims' funeral on Friday evening. In the video, he made an emotional appeal to President Tinubu and the junior defence minister, who is from the area, to intervene and stop the widespread killings.

Earlier this month, gunmen killed 17 farmers and wounded at least 13 others while they were working in their fields in Goron Namaye, another part of Zamfara state.

According to the United Nations, an insurgency in northern Nigeria has killed thousands of people and displaced millions over the years. Armed gangs involved in kidnapping for ransom, taxing farming communities and illegal mining are active in the north-central and northwestern parts of the country.

Last year, Nigeria entered into a military cooperation agreement with the United States after a diplomatic row in which US officials said a "Christian genocide" was taking place in the country. Nigeria's government rejected the accusation, and analysts said it oversimplified a complicated situation in which people are often targeted regardless of their faith. Nigeria is largely divided between Christians in the south and Muslims in the north.

The latest attack in Zamfara adds to a series of killings in northern Nigeria, where farming communities have continued to face violence from armed groups and the broader insurgency remains unresolved.

With PTI Inputs

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