By Yushau A. Shuaib
While Borno in the North-East is the epicentre of Boko Haram terrorism, Zamfara in the North-West is hotbed of armed banditry, and Katsina, the home state of President Muhammadu Buhari, is fast becoming the haven of notorious gangs of terror-bandits.
The recent abduction of 333 students of Kankara Boys Secondary School in Katsina State by gunmen, evoked memories of the 2014 kidnap of more than 275 students of Chibok Girls Secondary school in Borno State by terrorists.
Confirming the figure of abducted innocent students, Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State said a negotiation was ongoing between the government and the abductors.
Just when a joint rescue operation was launched by the military and security forces, with intelligence services identifying Zango/Paula forest as the hideout of the abductors, strangely the leader of a terrorist group in Nigeria claimed responsibility for the abduction.
An audio message from Shekau’s faction of Boko Haram, which claimed responsibility for the abduction, did not provide video footage or photo evidence. The announcement may indicate the recruitment of local gangs by the terror group to carry out the attack. For some times, security experts have raised alarms that bandits could be forging ties with terrorists’ groups in region, even when some of the communities have been living with the armed gangs.
The claim of responsibility by the terror group has compelled the government of Katsina to close all schools that could be vulnerable to further attacks, while more states, including Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara and Jigawa also ordered the closure of schools.
Intelligence has shown that the bandits operate from their hideouts in the massive and dreaded Rugu forest that cuts across Jibia, Safana, Danmusa, Batsari, Dandume, Sabuwa, Kankara and Faskari Local Government Areas of Katsina State.
The motorcycle-riding armed bandits have been actively involved in cattle rustling for trade, kidnapping for ransom, raping for pleasure and mass murder in reprisal attacks, sometimes against security forces in most daring and worrisome coincidences.
Was it strange that the abduction of the Kankara boys occurred on the day President Buhari arrived in Daura, his hometown, in Katsina State, on a private visit and a few days to his birthday? Buhari last visited the State in December 2019, when he inaugurated construction work on the N18 billion University of Transportation, Daura.
Another coincidence was the killing of some 23 Nigerian soldiers in an ambush by armed bandits in Jibia area in July. That deadly attack on troops occurred after the chief of Army staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai had flagged off a Special Army Super Camp IV in the State. In fact during the flagging off ceremony in Faskari, Buratai said the establishment of the super camp was to mark the commencement of “Exercise Sahel Sanity 2020” to curb banditry and other forms of crimes plaguing communities in the North-West. He also commissioned intervention projects executed in various communities in Katsina to improve the civil-military relationship.
Similarly, in November, heavily armed bandits, dressed in military camouflage, kidnapped nine police officers in the rank of assistant superintendents of Police (ASPs) between Kankara and Sheme towns in Katsina, before they were rescued/freed afterward.
Before then, in June, bandits stormed communities in Faskari and killed more than 46 people, mostly the aged, women and children. Some of the communities affected in the gruesome attacks include Kadisau, Maigora, Kabalawa, Kwakware, Raudama and Unguwar Wahabi.
Intelligence has shown that the bandits operate from their hideouts in the massive and dreaded Rugu forest that cuts across Jibia, Safana, Danmusa, Batsari, Dandume, Sabuwa, Kankara and Faskari Local Government Areas of Katsina State.
There must be concerted efforts to tackle the emergence of armed terror-bandits, a conspiracy between terrorists and bandits in Katsina and elsewhere in Northern Nigeria.
Surprising, as the Nigerian military intensifies its offensive in decimating several camps and neutralising many of the bandits, mostly through massive air raids, the ranks of bandits increase by the day.
Since the government is trying to safeguard the victims and guarantee their liberation, there should be tact in the negotiation and military operations towards rescue efforts.
Despite the efforts towards rescuing the latest victims of terror-bandits, citizens live in fear and apprehension of further attacks by bandits.
With the vast majority of the population living in extreme poverty, kidnap for ransom is becoming Nigeria’s most lucrative industry.
There must be concerted efforts to tackle the emergence of armed terror-bandits, a conspiracy between terrorists and bandits in Katsina and elsewhere in Northern Nigeria.
Not only the government but the society should be involved in tackling poor education, improper upbringing, drug addiction, joblessness, poor governance and above weak intelligence gathering by security services.
Yushau A. Shuaib; www.YAShuaib.com