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Nigerian State Approves Carrying Guns to Defend Against Bandits

A soldier next to a group of girls previously kidnapped from their boarding school in northern Nigeria in 2021.

A soldier next to a group of girls previously kidnapped from their boarding school in northern Nigeria in 2021.

Source: AFP/Getty Images 

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Nigerian northern Zamfara State will allow people to carry guns to protect themselves against armed bandits after authorities failed to curb a rise in kidnappings and killings. 

The government has told police to issue firearm licenses “to all those who qualify and are wishing to obtain guns to defend themselves,” Hudu Yahaya, a spokesman for governor Bello Matawalle, said on his Facebook page. It’s intended “to deal with the recent escalating attacks, kidnapping and the criminal levies being enforced on our innocent communities,” he said.