‘…Foreign collaborators, mineral resources responsible for worsening insecurity’
…We’re taking fight to bandits’ enclaves – GOC
North-west Nigeria has been hit by an unprecedented wave of kidnappings, maiming, killings, displacements, cattle rustling, and disruption of socio-economic activities due to the rise of armed bandits in the region. BENJAMIN SAMSON who accompanied the military on a tour of Joint Task Force (North-west) Operation HADARIN DAJI (OPHD) writes on how to end banditry in North-westfrom the viewpoints of the military, traditional rulers and political leaders in the area.
Insecurity in the North-west has created a climate of uncertainty which is cause of concern for the government, security agencies and the citizenry.
Despite efforts by successive administrations to end the menace, it has continued leading to the death of thousands of Nigerians and loss of property worth billions of naira.
Situation report
Addressing a team of journalists led by the Deputy Director, Defence Media Operations, Brigadier General Mohammed Dahiru Abumawashi, the Commander Garrison 8 Division Garrison Sokoto, Brigadier General Alex Tawasimi, said operational activities in Sector 3 Operation HADARIN DAJI covers the general areas of Sokoto.
“Our activities involve safety of life and property in the state, and you know the security situation here has to do with violent extremists and insurgency which we are trying to tackle.
“Like you know, Sokoto state is not the epicenter of banditry, the epicenter of the activity is Zamfara and Katsina. Sokoto, because we share a boundary with Zamfara, we see more activity in the general areas of Isah, Goronyo and Sabon Birni who share boundary with Zamfara state.
“This does not mean we do not have operational activities across the border. We have banditry activities across the border lines with the Niger Republic who cross the border to perpetrate their criminal activities.”
Root causes
The Emir of Kotorkoshi, a community affected by banditry, His Royal Highness Abubakar Ahmad Umar, has blamed foreign collaborators and the presence of mineral resources like gold in commercial quantity for the worsening insecurity situation in Zamfara state and northern Nigeria.
Speaking with some defence correspondents, who visited his Palace at Kotorkoshi in Bungudu Local Government Area of Zamfara state, he noted that the disagreements between Fulanis and Hausas over cattle rearing, grazing and farming land were initially the main cause of the conflict, but the situation has been aggravated by the discovery of gold and other mineral resources in the region.
The monarch alleged that foreigners with selfish interests are involved in the crisis, supplying arms to locals and exploiting the mineral resources while Nigerians kill each other.
“The truth is that there are foreign collaborators in the security situation in the North. Our people have been killed; other Nigerians have also been killed. The more security agencies kill the armed Fulanis, the more their numbers increase. Today the military and other security agencies will go after them and kill them; tomorrow another set will come and attack our people.
“They come in from Mali, Burkina Faso and other places, kill our people and loot our resources.”
Umar also criticised the role of politics in the crisis, blaming politicians for prioritising party interests over national security.
This is as he urged the media and human rights groups to be more objective in their reporting of military operations.
“Politics is another reason why insecurity has lingered. If a governor brings an initiative to address insecurity, those from the other political party will not support him. The political class must bury their differences by being patriotic if we must tackle the menace of insecurity,” Umar added.
He further alleged that informants within communities, including some traditional rulers, are sabotaging the efforts of security agencies.
“There are informants who sabotage the efforts of government and security agencies. We have them in communities, some traditional rulers are informants and we also have bad eggs among security agencies.
“When we talk about informants we are not only referring to members of the communities. Recently some traditional rulers were arrested for collaborating with bandits. Some were due to greed and others had no choice because their communities have been subdued by bandits,” he said.
He acknowledged the challenges faced by his own community bordering areas terrorised by bandits and revealed that he has encouraged his people to defend themselves.
“I have told my people, including women, to defend themselves against the bandits. We believe one will die only once. Sometimes when our community is under attack, we do whatever we can to defend ourselves before the arrival of the military.”
Victims speak
Some victims of banditry in Zamfara and Sokoto state narrated their ordeal to this reporter.
A resident of Goronyo in Goronyo is a Local Government Area in Sokoto state, Pastor Sunday Ede, narrated how he was kidnapped and tortured by the bandits.
“I was in my house around 1 am when the bandits kidnapped me alongside another pastor. Unfortunately for me, they broke my hand and legs. I was in a pool of blood. When they discovered that I couldn’t walk anymore and I was about to die, they left me and went with the other pastor. He was held in bandits’ den for eleven days before soldiers rescued him.
“I want to thank the troops in this area led by Captain Magaji for ensuring that we sleep with our two eyes closed. The security situation in this area has really improved. When we make distress calls, Captain Magaji doesn’t only send his men, he personally leads them. It shows that he is truly a gallant officer,” he said.
Similarly, Lami Dahiru, a resident of Kotorkoshi who was rescued by the military, narrated her ordeal.
She said, “They came to our community at night and kidnapped me alongside four members of my community. They asked me where my husband is, I told them that my husband is late. I realised that if I tell them I am married they would torture me more. They threatened to kill me if I didn’t tell them the truth. I told them that my husband died six months ago and I have not remarried.
“We walked in the forest without food or water till morning nonstop. After four days they said if our family members didn’t bring the ransom, they requested they would kill us. They said today is the last day.
“All of a sudden, we heard sound vehicles. Lo and behold it was soldiers. They now asked us to stand up. We wanted to run away but they surrounded us. When the soldiers started shooting, they became confused and ran away one after the other. Some of the soldiers chased them into the forest while others took us to a medical facility where we were rehabilitated.”
In the same vein, a resident of Kotorkoshi, Dahiru Umar Limanci, narrated how he took ransom to bandits’ camp to secure the release of his wife.
According to him, “My wife (Sekina Ibrahim) was kidnapped by bandits. They held her captive for seven days. They used her phone to call me and demanded a ransom of N3 million.
“I told them I don’t have that kind of money but after so much back and forth we agreed on N250,000. They said I should take the money to a village called Mada. When 1 got to Mada they told me to bring it to another village called Tudun Wada. I told them I don’t know the community. They asked me to stop any bike and tell them. But all the bikes I stopped refused to go because it was too far.
“They called again and told me to go to the outskirts of the village that I will see a bike that will take me to Tudun Wada. When I eventually got a bike that charged me N500, they said we should stop at the outskirts of the town.
“They now told me to follow a bush path. I walked on that path for about 12 kilometers. I didn’t meet anybody on the road except one person. All of a sudden, I saw two people with guns, one in my front and another in my back.
“They threatened me that if the money is not complete, they would kill me. I told them that it’s complete but I withdrew N500 to pay for the bike. One of the bandits now removed N500 from his pocket and completed it so as not to make his boss angry.
“They now asked me to return to Tudun Wada. I got there around 10 pm. They then told me that they have taken my wife to Mada after telling me that they will take her to Tudun Wada. When I got to Tudun Wada they told me again that she was in Mada. However, with the help of some good Samaritans in Mada I was reunited with my wife.”
Military interventions
Speaking with the correspondent on what the military was doing to put an end to banditry in the region, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 8 Division, Sokoto and Commander, Joint Task Force (North West) Operation HADARIN DAJI (OPHD), Major General Godwin Mutkut said, troops are confronting bandits in their enclaves within the region.
He revealed that they know all the enclaves’ bandits are hiding and they are taking the fight to them.
“We know where all the bandits are, we know all those enclaves, we know that the bandits dug up places and hid whenever aircraft was passing,” he said.
General Mutkut, while debunking allegations that the military bombed civilians in Zamfara in its recent operation, said the military doesn’t bomb civilians during its operations. He said the military takes precautionary measures to ensure that it minimises civilian casualties during operations.
Speaking specifically about the Bayanruwa community in Zamfara where it was alleged that the military bombed civilians, General Mutkut said all the people that were bombed in the community were bandits.
“I know you are asking this question because of Bayanruwa where they said we bombed civilians. Everybody we bombed there were bandits.
“Everybody in Bayanruwa is a bandit, I am the one saying this, there is nobody in Bayanruwa that is not a bandit. If there is anyone saying Bayanruwa is not for bandits let him come let’s take him there, all of them there are no exception and I know they are going to hear this are bandits,” he said.
He disclosed that the military working with Department of State Services (DSS), Police and locals gather accurate intelligence on bandits’ location before embarking on bombings and airstrikes.
He said: “We don’t bomb civilians in our operations. We take precautionary measures to ensure that we avoid civilian casualties.
“The reasons why we carry out these operations in the first place is to protect civilians so they can go about their businesses. The civilian population is central to our operations.
“We try as much as possible to make sure that these civilians don’t mix with the bandits. We ensure they don’t stray into areas where the bandits are.
“We go as far as protecting them in their farms. We had a programme last year where we protected civilians in their farmland. We rotated it among communities so we can have more men to protect them. That yielded a lot of results and also led to bumper harvest. I think it’s something that is worthy of emulation by others. At all times the civilians are the key people that we protect.”
Zamfara situation
Similarly, in Zamfara, the Chief of staff to the commander sector 1 of Joint Taskforce (North West) Operation HADARIN DAJI (OPHD), Col. John Umaru, while responding to questions from this reporter, denied that some area of the state is under bandits’ control.
He said the military has put measures in place to cut supply of food and fuel to the bandits.
He said, “In the military, we have what we call Area of Responsibility (AoR). When you are given an area to cover, you reallocate it to sub -units. Zamfara state has been shared amongst teams and forward operating bases. They cover the entire state. There is no area in the state that is not covered under a unit or subunit. There is no area in the state that is under bandits’ control.
“We know the importance of fuel and food to the bandits. We have done so many things stop their supplies to the bandits. In fact, we have closed some markets in remote areas where bandits sell rustle animals.
However, some of their civilian loyalists go to the bandits, collect the rustle animals and help them sell. There was a time we effected an arrest; we saw two Gulf cars loaded with a lot of soft drinks. One of the major foods that bandits feed on is soft drinks and bread. When we see a vehicle loaded with soft drinks we sometimes arrest.
There was a time we arrested people like that and the community people defended them that they are legitimate business men. Since we don’t have evidence, we left them.
“We have also restricted the sale of fuel in some areas. Before people selling fuel sell to anybody, they must get clearance from military commanders in the area that the person selling fuel is neither a bandit nor a collaborator.
“Don’t forget that a lot of people in the rural areas need fuel. They use it for irrigation farming, to grind maize and so many other things. We cannot completely stop it but these are some of the little things we have done to address these issues.”
Commendations
Meanwhile, the Sole Administrator of Goronyo LGA, Hon. Kabiru Shehu, Sarkin Fulani, has commended troops of the armed forces of Nigeria attached to Operation Hadarin Daji for bringing relative peace in the area.
The council boss, who spoke through the secretary to the LG, Alhaji Shehu Isah, said “The insecurity in this area in the last two to three years was horrible, but now, because of personnel on ground to oversee this situation and carry out operational exercise, the banditry is reducing.
“Although the local government too has contributed a lot to see that security agencies conduct operational exercise effectively. We provide them with logistics and human support.
“The security committee of the local government comprises of ex-soldier, ex-police men and vigilante. With this combination of the security agencies, we all believe that they can help improve the security situation of this local government.”
He also disclosed that, “This is the first time they witness a senior military officer coming all the way from Abuja to Sokoto and to Goronyo LG and the purpose is known to everybody.”
“Some few months back some military operatives came here purposely for that operation, I don’t know where they came from, but I believe it was a federal government initiative. When they came to Sokoto they were sent to this area, and they did well.
“They rescued more than 10 people from the bushes, and the next day, they went again and rescued other people. The state governor has instructed us, I mean the LG and himself purchased food stuffs and distributed to all the victims. This is exactly what is happening today. I must also add that Captain Magaji is doing well, even in the night he calls the chairman and myself that this is what is happening in the bush.
“The LG and the state government are doing their best to help the security agencies. I believe you are not in Sokoto when the Executive Governor of Sokoto Dr. Aliyu Amad Sokoto, distributed more than 23 operational vehicles to security agencies. And he distributed more of this number to the military to conduct operations in rural areas.”
Way forward
Speaking on the way forward, the Emir of Kotorkoshi called for a holistic solution to the problem, urging the federal, state and local governments to work together to identify the root causes of the insecurity.
He advocated for increased military force against the perpetrators and improved welfare for security personnel.
According to him, “The government must use maximum force against the perpetrators to show them that they are in charge.
“Our military has over the years gone to foreign countries and made us proud. The security challenges in our country are not beyond them.”
He, however, charges the government to provide basic need for citizens to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.
“To end banditry in Nigeria, there must be equality. Nigerians especially the poor have been denied basic things of life by the political class. Some politicians without university degrees earn far way above graduates and even soldiers who sacrifice the comfort for the country.
“The resources of the country are not evenly distributed amongst the citizens. The gap between the political class and ordinary citizens is too wide,” he added.
