Akani Alaka writes on the increasing audacious attacks and takeover of communities across the country and the apparent lack of commensurate response by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
Speaking at the third quarter 2021 meeting of the Intra-Religious Council in Abuja last Thursday, Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation assured that his boss, President Muhammadu Buhari is aware of the near breakdown of law and order in many parts of the country and is determined to arrest the situation. “I can assure you that the President is doing everything possible to bequeath a safe and prosperous nation to the next one. The President is very concerned about the level of insecurity and the high cost of living in Nigeria. He is working on how to resolve these challenges in the shortest possible time,” Mustapha told Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, the Sultan of Sokoto and President of Supreme Islamic Council of Nigeria, Rev Samson Ayokunle, President, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN and other religious and traditional leaders present at the event.
Unrelenting, Audacious Bandits
It’s doubtful if such assurances will provide any comfort for Nigerians, especially in the Northwest and Northcentral parts of the country where the bandits, kidnappers, ethnic militias are increasingly assuming the status of overlords.
Less than 24 hours after Mustapha’s assurance, for instance, the bandits, who, some have argued should be appropriately referred to as terrorists, had in their usual fashion, stormed the Zango community in Samaru, Zaria, Kaduna State where they abducted several persons.
The bandits invaded the Zango from different entry points around 1 am on Friday, shooting sporadically for about 30 minutes before entering into some houses in the community to take some of the occupants away, according to an eyewitness.
Consequently, rights activist and former Senator representing Kaduna Central Zone, Shehu Sani had advised the management of Ahmadu Bello University main campus, College of Aviation and Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology located in the same area to take immediate steps to secure the lives of their students and staff from the bandits.
The Senator cannot be faulted given the increasing boldness of the bandits in their operations as they demonstrated in the audacious attacks on Nigeria’s elite military training institution, the Nigerian Defence Academy just three days before in the same state.
The bandits had in the confounding attack at the residential quarters of NDA in Afaka killed two officers and abducted another one whose fate is uncertain as at the time of writing this story last week. Some other officers sustained gunshot injuries and are currently receiving treatment.
The Academy’s spokesperson, Bashir Jajira, blamed the attack on unknown gunmen. “The security architecture of the Nigerian Defence Academy was compromised early this morning by unknown gunmen, who gained access into the residential area within the Academy in Afaka. During the unfortunate incident, we lost two personnel and one was abducted,” he said in a statement. “We assure the general public that these unknown gunmen would soon be apprehended and the abducted personnel rescued,” he added.
Outrage, outrage!
But for many Nigerians, the ease with which the bandits were able to attack the elite military institution without any of them being killed or captured is another indication that no community is out of reach of the bandits in that part of the country.
The NDA premises is also located in the same Afaka community which housed the Federal College of Forestry where bandits had abducted scores of students who they held on to for many weeks until their parents raised millions of naira ransom.
Also, the bandits had been kidnapping staff of Kaduna International Airport located along the same axis. Therefore, it was believed that the attack on the NDA could have been averted if the military officers in charge of the facility had paid close attention to what is happening to their neighbours.
The Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Yusuf Ibrahim Zailani said the incident must be treated with all seriousness in a statement signed by his SA Media and Publicity, Ibrahim Dahiru Danfulani. “It is disheartening and unfortunate for such an attack to have taken place, catching those in charge of its internal security off guard,” he said in a statement. “Sadly, ordinary street bandits will invade a military institution of such high national and international repute, outwit the security system and men there, kill officers and take one away to an unknown destination,” the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) said in a statement that captured the outrage of Nigerians about the attack.
The Forum said the invasion and desecration of “factory where all Nigerian military officers are produced, is an indication that Nigeria’s national security system is running on reverse gear,” in the statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Emmanuel Yawe: “We of the ACF have said it again and again that there is everything seriously wrong with the management of our security. The other day a Nigerian Airforce fighter aircraft was shot down by the so-called bandits. Today, the factory where all Nigerian military officers are produced has been invaded and desecrated. What else do we need to show that our national security system is running on reverse gear?”
Killings, Kidnappings in Kaduna
Yet, the attack is also a pointer to the fact that the security situation in Kaduna, just like in some of the neighbouring states is getting worse. In a statement released last month, the state government indicated that 220 deaths were recorded due to banditry and other violent attacks across Kaduna State between April and June 2021.
It also added that 774 others were kidnapped within the period. The kidnapped persons, including schoolchildren, who were fortunate enough to survive the gruesome ordeal of violent abduction and life in the hands of the increasingly brutal bandits, secured their freedom after payment of heavy ransoms by their families and guardians.
While some state governments have reportedly helped their people to pay ransoms, Governor El-Rufai had insisted that giving the bandits money will only encourage them to persist in their criminal activities. Some commentators had said bandits are targeting Kaduna for abduction and other criminal acts because of the policy of Governor Nasir El-Rufai not to negotiate or pay ransom to get them to free their victims. “We have a feeling that the renewed attacks in Kaduna are not unconnected to the position that we have taken as a government that we will not negotiate with criminals,” Governor Nasir El-Rufai said while also confirming that notion in a recent interview.
Impoverished Parents
As such, relations and family members of kidnapped persons have been left to their own devices on how to get their wards or relations out of the hands of the kidnappers. Sources told this newspaper that family members of kidnapped persons are becoming pauperized as they sell their valuable assets, including farmlands and houses to meet the demands of the bandits, citing the abducted students of Bethel Baptist High School.
The students, 121 in all, were abducted in the early hours of July 5, 2021, around 2 a.m. on the school premises along the Kaduna-Kachia highway, Damishi, in the Chikun Local Government Area of the state. The bandits have been releasing them in batches as the parents meet their monetary demands.
For example, 28 of the students were released on Sunday, July 25, after N50m ransom was paid while another 15 of the students were released on Saturday, 22, August after payment of another hefty ransom. The bandits are still holding nearly 70 students, leaving their parents to continue to writhe in agony.
While the governor insisted that he would not pay ransom for abducted persons, he has not put in place the necessary structures to tackle the bandits. He has continually complained that there was little the state government could do without the help of the Buhari-led Federal Government.
But beyond the promises of action and announcements of raids of bandits’ den by the military, a decisive action that will drive the criminals out of the state has not been seen from the president.
Niger State has not fared better. The pupils, who were kidnapped in the state on May 30, regained their freedom last Thursday after spending more than 16 weeks in captivity. They were released after their parents coughed out millions of naira and bought motorcycles for the bandits as ransom. Analysts said the abduction of students would in the end worsen the security of the state.
Aside students, bandits in Niger State have abducted traditional rulers and recently kidnapped the State Commissioner of Information.
Bandits Hit Buhari At Home
In Katsina, the President’s home state Governor Aminu Masari out of desperation advised the people to arm themselves to defend their villages against attacks by the bandits.
The situation in Katsina also demonstrated the futility of appeasing the bandits. For instance, Masari had, out of desperation to stop attacks and kidnappings of persons on villages and towns of the state offered an amnesty programme, including the promise of monetary rewards for so-called ‘repentant bandits’ twice.
Subsequently, he had in June 2020, complained that the bandits always violated the peace deals and that his government had been betrayed twice as the criminals went back to their criminal activities.
The governor argued that it was morally wrong for people to submit meekly to the bandits without any attempt to defend themselves, insisting that security was everybody’s business. “We must all rise to counter the insecurity challenge, we must not sit and watch some people buying guns attacking our houses, we too should buy the guns and protect ourselves,” he said a recent visit to Jibia part of the state. Masari had previously said 10 out of 34 local governments in the state have been under the control of armed bandits.
However, the desperation that gave rise to the call for self-defence manifested in the State House of Assembly last Monday when the lawmakers openly wept over unrestrained killings, kidnapping and plunder by bandits in their constituencies.
While contributing to the debate on the level of insecurity in the state, the lawmakers argued that despite the efforts of the federal, state governments and the security agencies, the security situation in the state was getting worse every day.
They also lamented that with more people being killed every day as more local government areas were being affected because of lack of adequate manpower by the security agencies. One of the lawmakers had noted that about 32 of the 34 LGAs in the state were now affected by insecurity with people being kidnapped within the Katsina metropolis. In his contribution, Alhaji Haruna Goma (APC Dandume), representing the Dandume constituency, noted that no fewer than 11 persons were killed in two communities of Dandume, while many were abducted just a couple of days before the debate.
While narrating the incident, the lawmaker burst into tears, saying that government should come to their aid before members of the community end up being massacred.
Similarly, the member representing the Funtua constituency, Alhaji Abubakar Mohammed, (APC Funtua), also shed tears as he narrated how for the past 40 days, bandits attacked their communities daily, killing scores and kidnapping many. Alhaji Jabir Yusuf (APC Batsari), representing the Batsari constituency, described the recent killing of 12 people in Duba, a community in Batsari, as unfortunate. After the long deliberations by the lawmakers, the assembly unanimously adopted the motion and called on all relevant authorities to look into the issue in the interest of those affected.
The house also resolved to hold a meeting with the National Assembly members from Katsina and also the state executive arm, to discuss the issue of insecurity.
Blood Flows In Plateau
The lawmakers are in the same boat with the people of Plateau where scores are being slaughtered by so-called unknown gunmen in what is an ongoing tit-for-tat killing between the religious groups in the state.
About 25 Fulani travellers from Ondo State were hijacked and killed by youths in the outskirts of the Jos North local government of the state about two weeks ago.
Some commentators had identified the killers as youths from the community inhabited by the Irigwe communities who were mourning their people suspected to have been killed by a militia aligned to the Fulani at the time the travellers were passing through their area. But Irigwe youths denied the allegation.
However, last Tuesday’s attack on Yelwa Zangam, another community in Jos North local government has been described as retaliation for the killings.
Youths from the community who were angry that, while the killings of the travellers attracted condemnations from the presidency and top government officials, the attack on their communities are not always acknowledged. Hence, they decided to take the remains of victims to the Plateau State Government’s House. “In the night they (attackers), removed the woods on the bridge, they entered and attacked us. About 20 of our people were shot dead. Some were burnt to ashes inside the room, they were about 17. They were buried, we buried them since yesterday (last Wednesday) because we can’t leave them. When they were shooting into the air with big guns, even the army cannot withstand them, we ran into the bush,” One of the survivors, Yakubu Bagudu who lost his brother and one of his sons in the attack said.
The attacks were carried out despite the curfew imposed on the local government by Governor Simon Lalong. Residents of Yelwan Zangam alleged that herdsmen were responsible for the attack and killings.
But state chairman, Gan Allah Fulani Development Association of Nigeria (GAFDAN), Garba Abdullahi Muhammad, denied the claim. “What is the evidence that shows the attack was carried out by the Fulani? We condemned the attack and called on security agencies to investigate the matter. People can hide under the banner of Fulani to attack and tomorrow, Fulani group would be blamed,” he said.
. Some groups in Plateau have also accused the General Officer Commanding 3rd Armoured Division, Major General Ibrahim Ali of complicity in the flare-up of the attacks and killing of people in Plateau communities by gunmen.
The TEKAN/ECWA bloc of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Plateau State Chapter at a press conference addressed by its Chairman, Rev. Moses Ebuga last week called for the removal of Ali, who is also the Commander of federal troops in the state known as Operation Safe Haven. The Christian body said its call for Ali’s removal was based on his inability to stop gunmen attacks in Plateau communities. But the army in a statement said the call for the GOC’s removal was part of a campaign of calumny aimed at tarnishing his image.
Desperate Call For State of Emergency
In Zamfara, while there was the good news of the release of the abducted students of the College of Agriculture and Animal Science, Bakura part of the state last Friday afternoon, bandits have continued to hold by the jugular many villages including their occupants who they have been turned into virtual slaves.
Indeed, a villager in Dadah, one of the villages in Zurmi, the local government said to be worst hit by banditry in the state was reportedly killed last Friday over failure to pay levies demanded by the bandits. According to a youth leader identified as Abdullahi Yusuf, one person was killed while seven people were abducted in the village. “Four of those abducted were women. What we have found out is that some of the villages did not pay levies imposed by the bandits, which led to the attacks,” he added. He said further that while the people of Gidan Zago, another village, paid N800,000 imposed on them while those of Tsakauna agreed to work on the bandits’ farmlands. He added that the bandits have now imposed N9 million on Takurawa, N2 million on Dadah and N2.5 million on Gidan Shaho.
The villagers, he said, have agreed to pay the money. He also revealed that the people of Kurunkudu village in the Bakura local government area have also reportedly paid the bandits N200,000 as a levy.
The Nigerian Xpress gathered that this was the situation in most rural areas of the state where bandits have continued to use villagers as serfs and operate without any form of hindrance by the security operatives.
Frustrated by the unrelenting attacks and rejection of overtures of peace by the bandits, Zamfara Governor, Bello Matawalle, had last Wednesday canvassed the declaration of a state of emergency not only over his state but over the entire northern part of the country.
The governor spoke at a meeting with the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 10, Ali Janga, at the Government House in Gusau, the state capital.
According to him, the declaration of a state of emergency would address the problem of insecurity in the North. In making the demand, the governor claimed that recalcitrant bandits were coming from other states to make life difficult for his people while his various engagements with the president on the issue of insecurity bedevilling the state had not yielded any fruit. However, analysts have described the call as unconstitutional.
Unveil The Unknown Gunmen
In the same vein, killings and abductions of villagers attributed to either bandits or criminal herdsmen have continued in Nasarawa and Benue State. Kidnappers have also continued to ravage the major roads and communities in the Southern part of the country.
And despite the recent surrender of Boko Haram insurgents, there are reports of members of the Islamic State of West Africa, ISWAP, setting up Sharia-based administrations over communities in the Lake Chad region.
The responsibility of stopping criminals from taking over the country rest with the government, Sultan Abubakar said last week while speaking at the NIREC forum.
While noting that killings were going on in the country that were not even reported, the Sultan challenged the security operatives to unveil the identity of the so-called unknown gunmen being blamed for massive shedding of blood in different parts of the country: “In Sokoto alone, there was a day we buried 76 people. They were killed in cold blood by criminals. People don’t hear about that one. There was a day we buried 48 people in the same Sokoto, but we don’t hear about that one,” said the revered traditional ruler. “All the people committing these atrocities must be identified, our security agencies must up their game, identify them and take action on them, whether he is a religious leader or an ethnic leader.”
He also called for an end to hate speeches from religious and political leaders. You cannot kill innocent people in the name of religion and claim that you are going to heaven, you are deceiving yourself, you are going to hell. All these people calling for such activities must be identified and our security agencies must up their game and take action against them. Whether it is a religious leader, ethnic leader or traditional leader, he must be made to face the law, because there is nobody who is above the law,” he said. Speaking at the same forum, CAN President accused President Buhari of being sentimental and biased in his handling of insecurity and governance in the country.
According to him, the President was practising “double standards,” by choosing which killings to react to and those he maintained silence from, as highlighted in the reference to the recent killings in Plateau, Nasarawa and Benue states.
Buhari Has Failed
For the opposition PDP, the unrestrained attacks by bandits and terrorists on communities across the country is an indication of the failure of the Buhari administration.
While reacting to the attack on the NDA and the evacuation of students from the University of Jos over the rising insecurity in Plateau, the opposition party in a statement by its spokesperson Kola Ologbondiyan, lamented that Nigeria’s insecurity has worsened, as “bandits now have the temerity to attack military formations”.
The party noted that violence and acts of terrorism had escalated across the country due to the incompetence and compromises of the Buhari administration as well as its refusal to heed wise counsel from well-meaning Nigerians, including the PDP on how to secure and stabilize the nation.
It also asked Nigerians to “hold the APC directly responsible for the escalated acts of terrorism in our country as history will continue to mark this administration for its mass failure in governance and for plunging our nation into the worst form of hardship and suffering ever”.
“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says the decision by some state governments to evacuate their citizens from violence and terror-ridden states, including Plateau State, further confirms that Nigerians have lost faith in the capacity of President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration to secure the nation,” the statement reads.
“The party laments that the insecurity situation has so deteriorated under President Buhari and the APC’s incompetent and compromising watch that suspected bandits now have the temerity to attack military formations, including the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, where they killed two officers and abducted another senior officer.
“Bandits and terrorists are now freely ravaging our communities in Kano, Kaduna, Kogi, Benue, Zamfara, Adamawa, Taraba, Borno, Yobe, Imo and other states of the federation, including Mr President’s home state, Katsina, where the governor, Aminu Bello Masari, has now asked victims of terror attacks to defend themselves.”
Call For Change of Strategy
Obviously, the change in service chiefs as canvassed by many Nigerians has had a significant impact on the security situation.
Some analysts have also accused the President of worsening the situation with his fixation with ideas like the revival of grazing routes. “Such ideas encourage the groups who have been fighting to take communities in places like Benue and Plateau to continue with their odious plans,” said an analyst.
Also, the issue of state police has been canvassed as a way out of the security challenges.
A former minister of state for defence, Prince Adetokunbo Kayode in an interview last Thursday urged the Buhari administration and security agencies to rejig their approach to the tackling of security matters.
He spoke against the background of the attack on NDA. The former minister also noted that the Buhari government must not shy away from seeking external help if necessary.
“Government must rejig its strategy about how to tackle this as it has gone too far and I believe that something has to be done because the NDA is a very sacred place for us.
“The whole world now must understand the kind of challenges Nigeria is passing through now, we need support, every country gets security support.
“The international community must rally around Nigeria to give us support and, although we alone cannot do it, we must do our best.
“We must show that we can help ourselves, we must show commitment,” the former defence minister said. While there has been a shortage of ideas on how the country can tackle the problem, the question is how receptive the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian armed forces will be to them. At the meeting with his security chiefs about two weeks ago, the president has said he would not want to end up as a failure at the end of his eight years’ tenure. But analysts said how he rises to the challenge of criminals who have taken over large swathes of the country will define his legacy. For now, the president seems to be off duty, at least as far as the oath he took to protect lives and property in the country is concerned.