Zagazola Makama
A woman who fled Mallamfatori at the height of Boko Haram attacks 15 years ago has returned to recover a pouch of gold she buried in panic while escaping the insurgents.
The woman, who requested anonymity for security reasons, had hidden the items behind her home as gunfire spread through the town and residents fled in terror.
With fighters advancing and the community descending into chaos, she wrapped her late mother’s gold coins and jewelry in a cloth, whispered a prayer, and buried them beneath the sand her last desperate act before running for safety.
Fifteen years later, after Mallamfatori was reclaimed from insurgents and gradually reopened to returning residents, she stepped back into the deserted community.
The town had changed, its buildings scarred by years of conflict, but she still remembered the exact spot where she knelt that night at least she hoped she did.
Riddled with doubt about whether the treasure had been discovered, destroyed, or swallowed by shifting sands, she approached the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Mallamfatori for assistance. Despite the unusual request and the slim chance of success, the officers agreed to help.
What followed was an emotional and meticulous search.
Her landmarks a tree stump and the corner of her old house had either vanished or collapsed. Guided only by faded memories, the police team dug through layers of sand and debris until a faint metallic glint appeared.
Inside the recovered bundle were 22 pieces of gold coins and ornaments, including a gold bracelet and chain—items now worth several millions of naira. Despite years of displacement, conflict, and harsh desert winds, the treasure had remained untouched.
Witnesses said the woman broke down in tears as officers handed her the pouch—tears of relief, gratitude, and remembrance. The gold, she said, was more than material wealth; it was a final gift from her mother, a surviving fragment of a life violently disrupted but never forgotten.