Declare State Of Emergency In Zamfara To Sanction Governor Now, Human Rights Watchdog Tells Tinubu

The Human Rights Watchdog in Africa (HRWA) has demanded that President Bola Tinubu declare a state of emergency in the troubled northwest state, accusing Governor Dauda Lawal of not properly handling insecurity in the state

The urgent call, issued on November 28, 2025, comes in direct response to explosive reports that over 500 inmates convicted of several offences, many jailed under previous administrations, have been released from the Gusau Correctional Facility.

Compounding the outrage, sources confirmed that eight suspects remanded in January 2022 for serious crimes were among those who benefited from amnesty.

The releases, tied to convictions from the tenures of former Governor Senator Abdul’aziz Yari and ex-Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle (now Minister of State Defence), have reportedly plunged thousands of Zamfara residents into “a serious circle of confusion and fear.

HRWA Executive Director Samson Adamu, in a fiery statement, lambasted Lawal for the way he is handling security in the state.

“Governor Lawal has never truly taken the insecurity plaguing Zamfara seriously.

“Since he assumed office, things have deteriorated catastrophically: villages razed, families torn apart.

The watchdog urged Tinubu to call the Governor to order, invoke emergency powers under the Nigerian Constitution to overhaul the state’s security apparatus, and launch a federal probe into the pardons.