Sokoto massacre: A good time to pounce on the “bandits”

By Adamu Bello Mai-Bodi

The insistently repetitive activities of killer-bandits, who should now be clearly termed as “the most merciless terrorists” in the Northwestern part of Nigeria have been the source of anguish for the innocent dwellers of that region and travellers alike. Banditry has been a thorn-in-the-flesh of the Buhari administration ever since it started. Despite the government’s massive investment in that area, the banditry problem looks insurmountable to both the government and the community vigilantes. The perpetrators continue to unleash mayhem on helpless citizens. They mercilessly murder, rape, steal, kidnap and destroy the properties and farmlands of their unsuspecting victims with impunity.

“Terrorism is a dead-end street,” Pope Francis famously warned. The bandits in Nigeria have reached the end of a cul-de-sac on which they have been travelling, with just a slim chance of surviving any counter-offensive devised against them. Due to the fact that the dry season has arrived and the clearing of the bushes that serve as hideouts for bandits terrorizing towns in sections of the North has begun, these terrorists are attempting to explore a  cease-fire option with the beleaguered people, as disclosed by the Daily Trust.

There has never been a better time for the Nigerian military to strike and send these terrorists to the gallows than now. The fact that the gunmen are revealing their fragility and fear is a good omen. The federal government must not let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity pass them by. Needless to say, restoring security is one of the APC-led government’s top priorities. The killer-bandits have been ridiculing the government’s determination to keep this vital promise of preserving Nigerian residents’ lives and property. Now is the moment for the military to retaliate and rid the country of these unscrupulous elements.

Local communities should be prevented from holding any peace talks with these heartless assailants because they will go back to the trenches at their convenience, especially during the rainy season when the bushy areas of the forest are dense. Therefore, it is time for a collective effort by our security architecture and the communities involved to ensure these killers meet their waterloo.

Another reason for them to be crushed to the end is the manifestation of their new evil agenda which leaves no one in doubt that all they need is complete destruction of Arewa. Looking critically at the recent merciless killing at Sabon Birni in Sokoto State, one would wonder, what do these terrorists need? What have the innocent travellers done wrong to them? The answer is, they are killers and they are all out to kill. Nigerian government should know that these terrorists need to be annihilated, otherwise they will continue to destroy Arewa to its final end.