Three incidents, which starkly highlight the mortal danger facing the country, occurred last week. Many Nigerians have probably passed them off as the usual incidents in the life of a nation beleaguered by terrorists deceptively described as bandits in official quarters.
A Nigerian Air Force alpha jet crashed in Zamfara State on July 18 after it came under intense fire from insurgents. The aircraft was returning from a successful air interdiction mission between the boundaries of Zamfara and Kaduna states when criminals operating in the area shot it down. Luckily, the pilot, Flight Lieutenant Abayomi Dairo, ejected from the doomed jet and managed to evade the bloodhounds baying for his head. The nation was saved the loss of the ‘lion-heart’.
Reliving his ordeal, the pilot observed that a large swathe of Zamfara and Kaduna forests are governed by hardened criminals who live by the sword.
Security experts pointed out that the downing of the military aircraft was an indication that the so-called bandits are Boko Haram insurgents, who migrated to Zamfara and Kaduna to raise money for their unholy jihad through the ransoms collected from abducted citizens.
A day before the air crash, a notorious criminal terrorising the North-West, Kachalla Turji, unleashed his venom on several villages in the Shinkafi Local Government Area of Zamfara State, abducting about 150 persons in retaliation for the arrest of his father. His gang laid siege to Kurya, Keta, Kware, Badarawa, Marisuwa and Maberaya villages. Several travellers were also abducted on the Gusau-Sokoto Road, while residents of neighbouring villages live in fear of what may befall them.
Turji, who met with renowned Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, in February, demanded his father’s immediate release so he could celebrate the Eid-el-Kabir with his family. He reportedly vowed to abduct many people and keep them from observing the Eid with their families if his father was not released. He said his gang had loads of arms it could unleash on the state.
To the amazement of Nigerians, the government succumbed to Turji’s threats. His father was released just to placate him. The scoundrel has not been arrested as we speak.
On July 23, suspected bandits killed seven vigilantes, otherwise known as Yan Sakai, and also abducted 13 others in an attack on Dansadau town in the Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State. The criminals invaded the community around 3am and went after selected targets. They also torched an armoured vehicle stationed in the community by security operatives.
In Kaduna State, the Atyap Community Development Association alleged that 42 of its people were killed and seven wounded by unknown gunmen in the latest attacks on several communities in the Zangon Kataf Local Government Area. Three hundred and thirty eight houses were allegedly set ablaze.
Our correspondent had earlier reported the activities of another hoodlum identified as Dankarami, who boasted about the number of troops he had neutralised. In a video, the gunman was seen telling a group of officials how he ambushed and murdered many soldiers. He also openly confessed his involvement in several abductions. Dankarami is still holding sway in Zamfara and environs as of the time of filing this report.
ENACT Programme’s Regional Organised Crime Observatory Coordinator for Central Africa at the Institute for Security Studies in Dakar, Senegal, Oluwole Ojewale, described the insecurity in Nigeria’s North-West as terrorism disguised thinly as banditry.
In an article published on brookings.edu, he said, “Further evidence suggests that the government is simplifying the dynamics. In actuality, North-western Nigeria has become the safe haven of increasingly active terrorist groups, including the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, Jama’at Nusrat al Islamwal Muslimin; Al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, a splinter of Boko Haram popularly referred to as the Islamic State in West Africa Province; and the Fulani herdsmen of West Africa once rated the fourth-deadliest terror group in the world.”
Ironically, the Department of State Services appears to be more concerned about the activities of secessionists. Its July 1 dawn raid on the residence of the Yoruba nation activist, Sunday Igboho, where two persons were gunned down and 13 others arrested, is still fresh in the memory of Nigerians. In the DSS list of security threats, agitators apparently rank higher and pose more danger to the nation than terrorists and bandits destroying lives and livelihoods in northern communities.
Policy analysts blame such double-standard for the inability of the security services to combat the rising criminality in the country.
Adopting a middle of the road approach, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), prefers fighting a wildfire with a bucket of water. If words could kill, his stern warnings and verbal threats to bandits and terrorists would have long ended the security crisis. But Nigerians have yet to see the insurgents fall over themselves to surrender their weapons or renounce their evil ways despite the General’s reprimands.
The Nigeria Security Tracker Council of Foreign Relations reports that over 5,034 persons had been killed across the country between January and June this year. According to the NST, 976 persons were murdered in January; 879 in February; 875 in March; 1,037 in April; 1,051 in May and 216 in June. An aggregation of the data shows that 584 persons were killed by Boko Haram and security operatives; 555 deaths were caused by sectarian actors, 530 by state actors and 216 by Boko Haram insurgents. Additional 1,435 individuals were also reported killed by non-state actors believed to be bandits between February and June, 2021.
While many Nigerians worry over this unconscionable waste of lives and the effete government response, the stance and body language of some leaders give the impression that all is well in the country. One of such people is Governor Nasir El-Rufai whose state, Kaduna, is being pillaged by ‘bandits’. Asked by BBC Pidgin during an interview if Boko Haram and bandits should be treated with the same swiftness that led to Nnamdi Kanu’s arrest, El-Rufai said, “No! No! No! No! People are comparing apples to oranges.”
Justifying his position, he added, “Nnamdi Kanu is the leader of IPOB, a proscribed organisation. He is identifiable, in constant communication and everyone knows where he is. Nnamdi Kanu is in one place, while (deceased Boko Haram leader) Shekau is waging guerrilla warfare. The insurgency is still going on and the Federal Government is not giving up.
“Regarding bandits, they are not centralised under one leadership. Who is the head of the bandits? Who is the equivalent of Nnamdi Kanu with banditry? Bandits are just collections of independent criminals. It is a business for them. It is not a case of Nigeria must break up.”
Critics insist that such disingenuous arguments by the northern leadership embolden the criminals in the region and also discourage the security agencies from hitting the hoodlums where it hurts most. Though the military is carrying out operations in Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina and other states, the impact is limited in scale to secure the huge territory under siege. Security analysts believe boots on the ground and cooperation with the communities could yield better results. To achieve peace and security, the government was advised to build trust with local communities vulnerable to attacks by bandits.
Setting up of early warning and response systems; working with vigilantes and community leaders on the ground, while addressing structural inequalities that drive people to violence, like poverty, a lack of education and opportunity could also help in combating crimes. Curbing the flow of firearms was also recommended as a crucial measure.
An expert in displacement and migration, terrorism, conflict and development, Claire Brenner, stated, “The Federal Government must increase funding for police and security forces to effectively oversee rural areas, control cross-border arms proliferation, and strengthen intelligence capabilities.
“In addition, addressing the root problems that often drive people to violence — inequality, poverty, lack of education and job opportunities — is needed to stem the recruitment of youths into bandit groups.”
A lecturer/resident researcher, Department of Political Science, Federal University, Lafia, Chukwuma Okoli, in his research into banditry, observes that the Federal Government’s current counter-banditry effort, based on military reconnaissance and raids, is good and commendable, but it has failed to bring about the needed respite, owing largely to the operational challenges arising from insufficient knowledge of the terrain.
He argues, “There’s no more effective solution than forceful inland and frontier policing. Such policing must deal with the region’s peculiar circumstances of diverse borderlines, forestlands and hinterlands. This requires a tactical synergy between grassroots vigilantes and the state security operatives.
“This makes the involvement of local vigilantes and community watch groups, who have a better knowledge of the terrain, more important. However, to guard against possible excesses and abuse, people in these structures must be properly trained, equipped and supervised. The way forward, then, is the development of grassroots policing, enriched by local personnel and intelligence.”
