By Femi Oyelola
The upsurge of armed banditry and cattle rustling activities in Nigeria, especially in the northern region, has worsened in recent times as the bandits maim and kill their victims.
Bandits have adopted kidnappings for ransom which sees to the release of the victims after money has been paid, but there’s rarely any punishment for the kidnappers. Mass abductions are, therefore, a low risk for these groups because of nonexistent consequences, and they will continue to prosper until an effective response can be made.
To combat this, payment of ransom to secure a victim’s release was made illegal via a 15-year jail term in 2022, after the passage of a law which additionally made abduction punishable by death, if the kidnappees die.
However many security experts and ordinary Nigerians have continued to interrogate whether the Nigerian government is truly winning the fight against banditry and kidnappings or not.
Findings by Weekend Peoples Daily revealed that the month of August 2024 was the deadliest for the armed bandits because it has seen some successes in the fight against banditry, especially from the application of kinetic measures and the deaths of bandits recorded.
A security expert, Barrister Abiodun Ishola, while speaking to Weekend Peoples Daily, said the bandits dug their own Waterloo, especially in some attacks carried out by them recently.
Barrister Ishola said the kidnapping and killing of Sarkin Gobir, the Gatawa District in Sabon Birni Local Government, of Sokoto State, and the abductions of traditional rulers, particularly in Zamfara, was a plot to put the Nigeria government and security into the ditch of despair.
He stressed that the Military and security agencies have no option but to respond in a way to show Nigerians that they have not surrendered any part of the country to bandits and other criminal elements.
Responding to this on Thursday 29th August 2024 the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major Gen Tukur Edward Buba, disclosed that its troops in August 2024, neutralized 1,166 terrorists, arrested 1,096 suspected terrorists and other criminal elements
He added that the troops also rescued 721 kidnapped hostages.
“Additionally, troops recovered 391 weapons and 15,234 ammunitions and denied oil theft of an estimated sum over N5bn (N5,045,160,010.00) only.
“The breakdown of recoveries in the month of August includes and is not limited to the following: 208 AK47 rifles, 54 locally fabricated guns, 53 Dane guns, 36 pump action guns, 10,452 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 1,991 rounds of 7.62mm
NATO, 293 cartridges, 42 assorted arms, and 2,498 assorted ammunitions. Others are 5,047,150 liters of stolen crude oil, 1,152,500 liters of illegally refined AGO, 320 liters of DPK, and 28,500 liters of PMS, amongst other items.”
He further said that the strategy of the troops is to undermine the abilities of these terror groups and create conditions whereby they cannot carry out acts of terror or harm citizens.
“Accordingly, the military has prioritized targeting the terrorist leaders, commanders, foot soldiers, as well as their collaborators.
“Several terrorist leaders and commanders were taken off the battlefield as a result of this during the month. Those in the NE include Munir Arika, Sani Dilla (aka Dan Hausawan Jibilarram), Ameer Modu, Dan Fulani Fari Fari, Bakoura Araina Chikin, Dungusu, Abu Darda and Abu Rajab. Others in the NW include; Kachalla Dan Ali Garin Fadama, Kachalla Dan Mani Na Inna, Kachalla Basiru Zakariyya, Sani Baka Tsine, Inusa Zangon Kuzi, Ibrahim, Tukur and Kamilu Buzaru, among others.
“Troops have significantly dismantled these terror groups in the NE, where they are a diminishing but active threat. Troops are also intensifying operations in the NW, NC, SE, and SS to defeat and dismantle the threats in these areas.
“The motivation of the terrorist is getting lower and lower in the NE, which is leading to the mass surrending recorded. Troops aim to replicate the same in other theatres of Operation to bring peace and safety to citizens.
“The military is on high alert and we have increased our readiness to protect the country from further terrorist aggression. We urge citizens to understand that this war is not a quick fix, but a long and enduring military operation. It is certain that in the end, these terrorists will be destroyed, and our nation will be safe and peaceful again.
Corroborating this, the Overseeing Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Kaduna State, Samuel Aruwan, said troops of Operation Whirl Punch (OPWP) conducting fighting patrols have killed eight bandits in Birnin Gwari Local Government area of Kaduna State on 28th August 2024
According to his operational feedback to the Kaduna State Government, the troops commenced a fighting patrol to the Kampanin Doka general area and, on arrival at the location, made contact with bandits.
The troops, it was reported, promptly engaged and killed the bandits.
“On securing and searching the area, the troops recovered Three AK-47 rifles, eight AK-47 magazines; four empty and four loaded with a total of 120 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, one magazine carrier, six motorcycles, three mobile phones, two Baofeng radio sets
and three pairs of civilian clothes.
“During the concluding leg of the patrol, further contact was made with bandits around Gayam general area. The troops neutralized one, as others were suspected to have escaped with gunshot wounds.
“The Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Uba Sani, thanked the security forces for the feedback and commended the troops under the leadership of the General Officer Commanding, 1 Division, Nigerian Army Commander of Operation Whirl Punch (OPWP), Major General MLD Saraso for their valiant efforts and notable breakthrough.” He said
Similarly, the Locals of Matusgi village under Talata Mafara Local Government area of Zamfara State have on Wednesday, 27th August, defied an attack by a large number of armed bandits who invaded the village with the mission to kidnap and rustle.
According to the investigation, an attack by numerous armed bandits had failed on Wednesday in the hands of people of Matusgi village who, having been informed of a possible invasion, came out in large numbers armed with local weapons, including fabricated guns,s, and waited for the arrival of the bandits.
According to a local identified as Abubakar Nura, unlike previous times when everybody took to their heels for safety, this time, the bandits had unexpectedly received firepower from the locals from various angles, a situation which forced them to retreat.
“The bandits, while struggling to escape into a nearby bush, returned the fire on the locals when three people were killed.
“Even before the bandits retreated, there were already twenty-five corpses of them lying in their blood who had been fatally hit by the fearless locals wielding locally-made ammunition fired in defense of the community.
“As the bandits narrowly escaped the offensive by the firing villagers, they flew for safety through the only route that runs a few kilometers distance neighboring Magamin Diddi village under the Maradun Local Government area. The inhabitants over there, too, ambushed and opened fire on the fleeing terrorists, and ten more others were killed,” the local, Nura, said.
In vain, the people and residents of Gobir Communities in Sokoto State, North-west Nigeria, heeding the call for People’s Shahada Actions moved into Forests to confront the so-called daredevil bandits face to face.
In a viral video seen online, thousands of residents from Gobir in Sokoto State stormed the forest in large numbers to confront bandits who have been terrorizing their community in recent years.
Reacting to this a former lawmaker who represented Kaduna Center at the Upper Chamber Senator Shehu Sani praised the people and residents of Gobir Communities in Sokoto State for taking their fate into their own hands
The human rights activist said it’s high time the people took over the fight against banditry frontally without fear. Stressing, “No better time for People’s Shahada Actions than now.”
Shehu Sani, who has expressed anger over the killing of the Emir of Gobir and the incessant cases of kidnap by ravaging bandits in the northern regions, said failure on the side of security agencies to tackle issues of insecurity, especially banditry compelled him to make the call for People’s Shahada Actions as the potent solution to contain the excesses of bandits.
In a post via his Facebook handle Thursday, Shehu Sani averred, “The solution to the incessant and intractable problems of the cruelty and menace of Banditry in the North West is a People’s Shahada action, which is a masses movement to fumigate and disinfect their lands, forests, and farms against banditry and bandits.
“This theory is aimed at permanently freeing the people from the criminality of kidnappings and killings so that they can take back their lives, their farms, and schools.
“Vigilante and security agencies can all collaborate and cooperate on this to achieve results.
May Allah bring peace to our dear country.”
Senator Sani had in the past raised the alarm severally about how bandits took over the north and how they were able to establish a governance structure.
His words: “Virtually now, bandits in the North West have become a state within a state. They have been able to establish governance structure in the sense that they don’t just kidnap and extort money, it has reached a point where they even install.”
He also made frantic efforts to call on security agencies to make bold steps to solve the problems of Boko Haram and surging banditry before getting out of hand while he was in the Senate as a lawmaker.
He equally did the same when he made a video speaking on the need to rescue the late Emir of Gobir before he was brutally killed by bandits.
But this time, the former lawmaker rather enjoined all citizens and residents across the three geo-political regions of the north to move into the Forests and dislodge all bandits.
“Enough of the killings of innocent people for no just reason. I strongly believe the People’s Shahada Actions is the best option to rid our region of bandits and criminal elements,” he emphasized.
Reacting to these developments, the Executive Director of Hope for Children Initiative, Hajiya Hadiza Umar, opined that hopefully, the Nigerian government has begun to develop the necessary tools, strategies, and personnel needed to prevent and respond to these attacks.
“Nigeria, according to her, will hopefully work towards protecting its girls and women and provide them with the necessary resources to recover in incidents of abduction and rape. Ultimately, however, this is an issue of domestic security, and the Nigerian government must prove capable of protecting its children at school and its young girls and women from abduction, rape, and forced cooperation,” she said.
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