By Clem Oluwole
There is no gainsaying the fact that BKT has not only turned a full circle, but it has also assumed an epidemic dimension. Until about two and a half decades ago, kidnappings or hostage takings were worrisome incidents confined only to the Niger Delta region, where aggrieved youths were venting their frustration on the government and the oil companies for neglecting the goose that laid the golden eggs. They also targeted foreign oil workers operating in the axis. Even albinos were not spared; they were mistaken for foreign oil personnel!
By the way, the initialism referred to above has nothing to do with the popular but cheap local liquor: Burukutu. Here, BKT stands for Banditry, Kidnapping, and Terrorism.
Gradually, the criminality became an attractive trade to those living outside the oil-rich region. Its rampancy came to an apogee from the late 2000s when top government officials, traditional rulers, celebrities, and other prominent citizens came under the criminals’ radars. Then, the phenomenon leapfrogged to the North in 2009 when the former Secretary to the Kaduna state Government, Mr. Waje Yayok, was abducted near his residence in Kaduna by some 10 armed bandits clad in military fatigues.
The SSG’s jeep and four other vehicles moved in a convoy to Warri, Delta state, a distance of 900 kilometres, unchallenged by all manner of security agents manning uncountable checkpoints on the highways. He was fortunate to regain his freedom after about 10 days in captivity. It was not known how much was paid as ransom for his freedom.
In a bid to arrest the escalating crime, some state governments in the south, such as Anambra, Rivers, Edo, and Imo enacted laws prescribing all manner of punishments that included the death penalty and life imprisonment not only for kidnappers but also the owners of premises where hostages were warehoused. Later, the punishment stretched to the demolition of such properties
What has given impetus to the crime over time are the ransoms victims’ families and even governments have been paying, running into millions of naira. Some of the kidnappers demanded dollars as ransom depending on the status of the victims or their families. Another attraction is the fact that kidnapping is less risky and more lucrative than armed robbery, which is probably why no cases are recorded these days, coupled with the embrace of cashless policy by many Nigerians that discourages the ferrying of heavy cash around.
The criminality reached its zenith when the Boko Haram terrorists abducted over 300 students of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, in April 2014. The unprecedented evildoing shook the entire world. About 11 years down the road, a large number of the captives are still held hostage, with all rescue hopes lost. More such incidents have been recorded in other parts of the North, and too numerous to list here, with the latest captures occurring in Kebbi and Niger states.
With kidnapping taking deep root, other allied crimes like banditry and terrorism joined the fray. While terrorism swept through the North-east with Borno state as its epicentre, banditry overran the North-west, using the gold-rich Zamfara as its launching pad.
The BKT has gradually grown into a multibillion-naira industry. Sophisticated machine guns, AK-47 rifles, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs), kamikaze (suicide bombers), among other infernal means, are the machinery that keep the industry running. However, kamikaze is less deployed these days; it seems to be out of fashion. Or could it be that there are no more virgins in the great beyond to incentivise the kamikazeans?
The BKT has evolved. When buildings used to warehouse victims came under the bulldozers, the industrialists moved their factories to the wildernesses scattered across the states. And there are over 1,000 of such designated no-man’s spots… the (notorious) Sambisa Forest Reserve being the largest, occupying about 518 square kilometres of the entire 110,000 square kilometres of Nigeria’s ecosystems. The Boko Haram could not thank their stars enough for the gift of such a massive fortress from where they have been launching their evil attacks across Borno state and beyond without any let or hindrance.
Criminals everywhere are smart. When the government decided to pull down structures housing the kidnap victims, the kidnappers put on their thinking caps and came up with the idea of ferrying them to any available wilderness, which would be practically impossible to pull down or incinerate. Our security agencies could not think outside the box. Since we can’t burn the forests, drones should have been deployed to smoke them out like bush rats.
Drones can release missiles guided by laser/GPS to hit designated targets, minimizing collateral damage. At the risk of being seen as a gloater, let me recall the assassination of a high-ranking Iranian military chief who was taken out in the midst of the aides that were swarming around him like ants on sugar at the Baghdad International Airport, Iraq, on January 3, 2020. That should tell us how effective attack drones can be.
The good news is that there is a new sheriff in town, who has taken over the Defence Ministry on the heels of the appointment of new Service Chiefs. The new broom is now complete. So, there should be no excuses in the efforts to prosecute the war against the BKT. In modern warfare as well as this unconventional battle against these ragtag elements, we cannot subdue them with just boots on the ground. It is like going to dare a pack of wolves with slings.
During the Gulf War, precipitated by the invasion of Kuwait by President Saddam Hussein, Iraq boasted of one million ground troops and an intimidating fleet of fighter jets. Hussein advised the United States and its allied forces against embarking on the misadventure. By that invasion, Saddam, described by me as the Thief of Baghdad in one of my write-ups during the war, played into the hands of his enemies, who accused him of stockpiling Weapons of Mass Destruction (WoMD). The allied forces waved his admonition aside and invaded Iraq with about 10,000 forces after grounding all the jets… not a single one of them was allowed to scramble into space. Without any airpower, the ground troops became sitting targets. It was the first time sophisticated technology was deployed in modern warfare. However, at the end of the hostilities, no semblance of WoMD was found anywhere in the desert enclave! But Saddam was eliminated in the end.
With drones now defining modern warfare, there will be no hiding place for these enemies of mankind, even if they melt into the wilderness or seek refuge in caves… except they are not breathing. The beauty of drones is that one weapon can outperform traditional artillery or some fighter jets. They easily expose the enemies’ locations and/or weaken them for precision attacks. Whoever controls the space has an advantage in modern warfare. Another advantage of deploying drones in the fight is that it will deter the criminals, knowing there is no hiding place for them. Our porous borders will also be better secured with drones in the short run, while walling is considered a long-term solution.
Clem Oluwole is a Public Affairs Analyst.
It is gratifying to note that within days of Musa coming on board, coupled with the assurance, zeal, and determination to end the madness, there appears to be renewed courage among our ground troops and other security personnel. Or how do we explain the reported elimination of notorious bandit kingpin Kachalla Kallamu during the week by troops of the 8th Division, Sokoto?
At this juncture, I wish to remind the new Defence Minister of his demand for Bello Turji’s head when he was the Chief of Defence Staff. The one-month timeline he gave expired long before his retirement, and Turji’s head is still sitting pretty on the thorax. That is like killing a snake without cutting off the head. Turji’s reign of terror in the Zamfara and neighbouring communities must end now for peace to return to that corridor.
All told, and with the declaration of security emergency, the Presidency must provide the necessary wherewithal to prosecute this war of attrition that has taken a heavy toll on Nigerians and the economy. These include arms and armament, as well as personnel across all the security agencies. Additionally, the newly re-jigged forest guards, armed to the hilt with state-of-the-art weapons, including drones, should be garrisoned in our wildernesses from where the bandits make their money. It has also remained a puzzle that these criminals’ calls cannot be tracked while negotiating for ransoms with cell phones. I just do not get it.
Clem Oluwole is a Public Affairs Analyst.
