By Zayyad I. Muhammad
Recently, the media have been awash by the news of bandits’ attacks in Taraba and Plateau states. On November 24, 2023, it was reported that gunmen in their numbers attacked and killed 20 people in the Yangtu Development Area of the Ussa Local Government Area of Taraba State. In the early hours of Tuesday, December 19th, 2023, other gunmen attacked the Pupule community in Yoro Local Government Area of the same Taraba state, kidnapped Umaru Nyala, the chief of Yorro chiefdom, and also abducted 22 other people.
The Taraba State police command and other security operatives killed over 50 bandits terrorizing villages along the corridor of Bali Local Government Area on Tuesday, November 28th, 2023. On the other hand, on Wednesday, December 27, 2023, a group of bandits stormed the Gondon Maliki weekly market in Taraba State, kidnapped scores of people, and carted away food and wares using motorcycles.
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, while condemning the gruesome murder of over 100 people in the Plateau, said, “The bandits seem to be ahead of the government.”
To be fair to all the Nigerian security operatives, they’ve done an excellent job in the Northwest states of Zamfara, Kaduna and Katsina, in facing the menace of the bandits. These states have witnessed a visible improvement in security in areas being terrorized by the bandits, and the Abuja-Kaduna highway is secured while the Niger axis is a little bit silent.
It appears that the military onslaughts on the bandits and other terrorists have killed many of their leaders, and they have dispersed to the Northeast axis and some parts of the Plateau. Why did the bandits settle in these areas, especially the Northern parts of Taraba State – Yorro, Lau, Jalingo and Ardo Kola local government areas? Is it due to its topography, location or economy? Taraba State is among the poorest states in Nigeria but rich in agriculture and forestry. Probably the bandits found solace in Taraba due to its uniqueness in geography and agricultural activities. Furthermore, the Cameroonian mountains, which stretch almost to the entire Northern and Southern parts of Taraba, linking the state with the River Niger, will certainly provide a hiding place for criminals, bandits in particular.
The only way of this menace is for the state, federal and local communities to work together; collaboration is key to security management. For example, at its 8th and 9th meetings held in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, on September 9th, 2023, and in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, on November 24th and 25th, 2023, the Northeast Governors’ Forum expressed its concern about the new dimension of the growing banditry in Bauchi, Gombe and Taraba states, and this may be as a result of the concerted efforts of the military on neutralizing the bandits from other parts of the country. The governors called on the federal government to intervene and promised to work with and support all security agencies.
Managing security in a vast country like Nigeria with inadequate modern technology for security management can be very difficult, and our security operatives cannot be everywhere and anywhere at the same time. So what is the solution?
The re-invigoration of the kinetic and non-kinetic security approaches by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has resulted in many successes and breakthroughs; however, more intelligence gathering is needed; community engagement and direct communication with the bandits should be employed. In community engagement, the model being used by the Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri-led Adamawa state government in tackling farmer-herder conflict should be adopted; the community should be made to feel part of the solution in security management, thus providing intelligence and also being a watchdog for security operatives without being endangered.
Secondly, the reported ongoing ‘soft approach’ should be sustained and, indirect communication with the bandits. Most of them now also use social media; thus, a kind of smooth operation should be launched by the ONSA and other relevant bodies to recruit people who speak the languages of bandits to send convincing messages to them on the ills, disadvantages and evils associated with their dangerous ‘trade’ while showing them the beauty and benefits being enjoyed by their ‘kind’ who adopt normal lives, go to school both western and religious, but still maintain their culture, beliefs and inherited legal trade.
Furthermore, radio and TV are also tools to reach the bandits, as satellite TV and solar power technology have now made it possible to watch or listen to the world, wherever one is – bandits, hiding in thick forests, use solar power and satellite technology to charge their phones, watch TV and listen to the radio. Above all, justice and fair play by those in power in providing the basics of life and alleviating poverty and ignorance away from these bandits will surely assist a lot in reforming them back to society.
Zayyad I. Muhammad writes from Abuja via zaymohd@yahoo.com.