Armed Attack in Northern Nigeria Leaves Seventeen Farmers Dead

(MENAFN) Gunmen killed 17 farmers in northwestern Nigeria on Friday in a fresh wave of violence targeting rural agricultural communities since the beginning of the farming season, according to local officials and residents speaking to reports.

Armed groups described as jihadist-linked fighters and bandit gangs—known for kidnappings for ransom and cattle theft—continue to carry out deadly raids across northern and central Nigeria, where they also impose levies on farmers seeking access to farmland.

According to residents, the attackers arrived on motorbikes and posed as visitors before opening fire on farmers working in their fields in the remote Goron Namaye village in Maradun district of Zamfara State. The assault left 17 people dead and five others injured.

"I received a report of the killing of 17 people in Goron Namaye community this morning," a local political administrator said.

The official described repeated attacks on farming communities in Zamfara State as "filthy operations aimed at disrupting 2026 farming activities."

"We buried 17 people who were killed in the attack," said a community leader, adding that five others were injured, three of them critically. He also urged authorities to deploy security forces to protect farmers in the area.

A resident gave a similar account of the attack, saying the gunmen concealed their weapons and only revealed them once they approached the farmers.

Another resident suggested the assault may have been a reprisal following the killing of 13 armed bandits by local vigilantes during an earlier clash in the village.

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