The Human Rights Watchdog in Africa (HRWA) has called on President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in Zamfara State, accusing Governor Dauda Lawal of worsening insecurity through political recklessness and negligence.
The demand, issued on November 28, 2025, followed reports that over 500 inmates convicted of banditry-related crimes including 69 hardened bandits were mysteriously released from Gusau Correctional Facility. HRWA alleged that these releases, authorized via a secret state pardon as far back as September 2025, were politically motivated and have reignited fears of violence across the state.
According to HRWA sources, some of the freed inmates had previously been jailed under former administrations, including those of Senator Abdul’aziz Yari and ex-Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle. The released convicts were reportedly processed through the Zamfara State Zakat and Endowment Board under the guise of “religious amnesty,” ostensibly to aid reintegration. Shockingly, eight suspects remanded since January 2022 for heinous crimes such as culpable homicide, criminal conspiracy, and dealing in human parts were among those freed.
HRWA Executive Director Samson Adamu condemned Governor Lawal’s handling of the crisis, calling the pardons “sacrilegious and totally against humanity.” He accused the governor of treating the state’s rampant banditry as a political game while communities continue to suffer.
“Governor Lawal has never taken the insecurity plaguing Zamfara seriously,” Adamu said. “Villages are being razed, families torn apart, and now we see convicted killers unleashed back onto our streets. This is a betrayal of every citizen’s trust.”
Adamu further criticized Lawal’s earlier claims of ending banditry “in two months,” describing them as empty boasts while he allegedly shields perpetrators. “If a governor who claims to know the hideouts of every bandit kingpin pardons the very criminals terrorizing his people, it is complicity, not governance,” he added.
The watchdog is urging President Tinubu to exercise his constitutional powers to suspend Governor Lawal, overhaul the state’s security apparatus, and launch a federal investigation into the pardons. “Sanction him decisively before more blood is spilled. HRWA will continue to stand with the voiceless victims of Zamfara until justice prevails,” Adamu emphasized.
