Eleven cattle markets in Zamfara have been closed due to banditry.

Eleven livestock markets in various sections of Zamfara State have been closed by the state government until further notice.

Munnir Haidara, the state’s commissioner for information, made the announcement on Wednesday. He said the decision was made in response to intelligence suggesting that the robbers were selling their rustled calves in the markets.

These are the marketplaces that Haidara claims are impacted: Tsafe and Bilbis in Tsafe local government, Jangebe in Talata-Mafara local government, and Wuya in Anka local government.

The other ones are the markets in Maradun, Shinkafi, Gusau, and Birnin Magaji, as well as the markets in Galadi, Magamin Diddi, and Sabon Birnin Danali.

Also included were the markets of Sabon Birnin Dan Ali, Kokiya, Chigama, and Nasarawar Godel, all of which are located in the Birnin Magaji local government.

“According to security reports, the bandits are allegedly collaborating with unscrupulous individuals to sell their rustled cows at those markets,” he said, explaining why the state government has decided to shut down the marketplaces.

The state administration, he claimed, has ordered the security forces to make sure everyone follows the rules and to arrest anyone who doesn’t.

“Anyone discovered in these impacted markets will be immediately arrested by the security personnel.”

Haidara pleaded with the state’s populace, urging them to obey the government’s orders and work together to root out banditry.

Bandit groups have long terrorised central and northwest Nigeria from their camps in the woods, plundering villages and holding citizens for ransom.

Since 2009, a jihadist struggle in northeastern Nigeria has been going strong, with different groups affiliated with the Islamic State organisation vying for dominance. This rivalry has resulted in the displacement of approximately two million people and the deaths of tens of thousands.

Representing Africa’s most populous and economically powerful nation, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos who was elected in February after a closely contested election, has pledged to increase investment in order to address the country’s ongoing security concerns.