By Prof. Abdussamad Umar Jibia
For nearly a decade, the North West geopolitical zone of Nigeria has been suffering from the menace of banditry. The bandits who live in the vast forest spanning several states in the Northwest and North-central zones started as cattle rustlers before metamorphosing into fully pledged armed robbers. They attack communities, schools, travellers, etc. Wherever they go, it is a story of killing, kidnapping, rape, arson and other unprintable atrocities.
Bandits lack the civility of the erstwhile armed robbers. In those days, armed robbers only sought money and valuables like jewellery. Once they had them, they were satisfied and would leave without dropping blood. That is not the case with bandits. When they visit a community or block travellers on highways, they usually start by killing some before kidnapping others.
Payment of ransom is not a guarantee of getting the kidnapped victim freed. They may collect ransom from relatives and still kill the victim. There are many examples.
Bandits’ locations and leaders are well known to the Government and members of the communities in which they operate. Many of them serve as the de facto government in their domain of operation. This is not a story I am telling from one of those video clips circulating on social media. Some of my blood relatives have been going to work on the farm of the bandits’ kingpin, who is in charge of their area.
To agree to live under the protection of an “officer”, the de facto rural government of Jibia and Batsari, a village has to send its elders with some money to go and beg for him to accept them. You may wish to go back to my writeup on “Submission to bandits authority”.
However, an “officer” is not the only bandit leader known to the government and the people. There are more deadly and more popular “officers”. One of them is Ado Aleru, who killed dozens of villagers in Katsina State and told the BBC Hausa service that he doesn’t kidnap; he only kills. Asked to give the number of people he killed, he said it is too large to remember.
Another officer is Bello Turji, who, among other crimes, once burned a passenger bus with 30 people in it days after opening fire on a village market that claimed 60 lives in Zamfara state. He is popular because he speaks frequently to the public. That, however, doesn’t make him the deadliest.
Dogo Gide is another “officer” who was notorious for, among other things, the abduction of 90 students and teachers of FGC Yauri, 11 of whom he married off in the process.
Among the many popular “officers” is Dankarami, who publicly confessed to killing many combined troops of Nigeria and Niger Republic in addition to kidnapping and killing many innocent citizens in Katsina and Zamfara state.
The above crime leaders and several others in their category are still alive and active.
The Buhari administration made the first blunder in dealing with the menace of banditry. The federal government under Buhari asked governors of the affected states to strike a peace deal with the bandits. Peace agreements were sealed between some state governments and bandits in 2016 and 2019; in both cases, the latter reneged.
Unlike what some of their sympathisers would want us to believe, the bandits are not freedom fighters but pure criminals and stark illiterates. The only thing that would make them drop their weapons is a continuous flow of cash from the Government, the kind of cash they make from their criminality. That is unrealistic for a Government struggling to pay its civil servants a paltry minimum wage. Hence, the peace deals were failed under Buhari.
Bandits’ sympathisers who gave Buhari the wrong advice have found their way into the Tinubu Government. The first indication of that is what a young Islamic scholar revealed early this year. The scholar alleged that, under the financial influence of unnamed federal defence officials, some Islamic scholars are campaigning for not just amnesty for bandits but their appointments into public offices by the government. He alleged that he was among those invited to participate in the campaign but refused.
As far as we know, the federal government did not deny Sheikh Koza’s claims. If he had lied, he would have been arrested and asked to name the defence officials. Neither of those things happened.
Then came the kidnap and murder of the Emir of Gobir. With the public outcry that followed, the Federal Government had to show its will to fight banditry. Thus, the Minister of State of Defence and service chiefs were asked to move to Sokoto and end banditry. However, despite the budget, since the movement of the minister and service chiefs to Sokoto, the only bandit of note who was killed/arrested by the Government is Halilu Sububu. Banditry business has continued as usual, even with the presence of our nation’s security heavyweights.
For example, as reported by national dailies, the Funtua-Gusau highway was blocked by bandits on several occasions during this period with no consequences. For frontline local Governments in Katsina state, the attacks became worse. The only place considered safe in my local Government area was Jibia town, the local government headquarters. However, since the so-called “Operation Fansan Yamma” started, Jibia town has lost its safety as bandits attacked, killed and kidnapped with impunity.
As Nigerians were waiting anxiously for the expected miracle due to the presence of security chiefs, the Lakurawa issue came up. According to sources, Lakurawa is a group with similar ideologies to Boko Haram. They have a total number of just 250 in Nigeria and no cases of frequent attacks on communities. Lakurawa militants are said to have been in Nigeria for some years at the instance of some Kebbi communities who sought their protection against bandits.
The question here is, why is the issue of Lakurawa now being brought up when we have a more serious problem to solve? Lakurawa are obviously not as dangerous as the bandits, and their presence in Nigeria has been linked to the failure of the government to protect citizens from bandits.
From day one, the approach of this and immediate past governments has made Nigerians believe they are not ready to end banditry. If they are now talking about some Lakurawa instead of our real problem, why should we not think they are using it to divert our attention?
My advice to President Tinubu is to remember that he was elected by Nigerians. Ribadu, Badaru, Matwalle or Christoper Musa did not contest and win an election. The president is responsible for appointing his aides, continuously monitoring them, and ensuring they are doing the right thing.
That the officials mentioned above are Northerners is immaterial.
Professor Abdussamad Umar Jibia wrote via aujibia@gmail.com.
