Residents of Bilbis village in Tsafe Local Government Area, Zamfara State, are living in fear as bandits have trapped the community indoors, enforcing an indefinite lockdown.
The village, home to Senator Ikira Aliyu Bilbis, representing Zamfara Central, has turned into a hotspot of suffering and criminal extortion.
A local, Murtala Ahmed, said the village has been under this forced “curfew” for more than ten days.
He explained that anyone caught outside their house is driven back by the bandits, who then take advantage to raid homes, stealing valuables and cash.
The situation worsened just before Ramadan.
After an army operation targeted bandit cattle near Bilbis, the criminals retaliated by killing the injured animals and forcing every family to “buy” small portions of the meat for N5,000 each.
On top of that, the village is struggling under a massive N30 million extortion demand from the gang.
Residents said they have already paid N15 million, hoping to prevent any violence.
In a widely shared open letter to Senator Bilbis, frightened villagers described the chaos, adding that many are too poor even to afford transport to safer towns like Gusau.
The State Police Command later said a joint military-police team reopened the Kucheri–Bilbis–Danjibga–Keta road.
State Commissioner of Police, CP Ibrahim Balarabe Maikaba, confirmed that Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) units found and destroyed several Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) set up by the bandits to block food and movement.
