MANY Nigerians are probably beginning to treat news of gruesome killings by bandits, especially in Zamfara State, with the just-another-story mentality. Admittedly though, the perception has got nothing to do with the lack of sensitivity by the citizenry to the savagery being unleashed and perpetrated by a callous and blood-thirsty few: the snag lies in the frequency and the seeming lack of capacity by the authorities to end the carnage that has made life miserable for many homes and families. Statistics made available by the state government showed that no fewer than 3,000 persons have been killed and thousands of residences destroyed by bandits as of August this year, with thousands of locals seeking refuge in neighbouring states.
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The bandits appear to be totally on the loose in that state, killing hapless civilians and law enforcement agents. The attendant humanitarian crisis is worsening. In one fell swoop recently, the bandits mowed down 16 policemen, although unofficial sources claimed that dozens of lives were lost. Before then, a number of policemen had lost their lives in a reign of terror unleashed by the bandits. In September, 11 persons were killed and 21 wounded by bandits at a football viewing centre in Badarawa in Shinkafi Local Government Area of the state. In fact, there were series of attacks in June, July, August, September, October and November with huge losses of life and property, and security agents appeared to be at their wits end trying to curtail the carnage. The major targets of the bandits included herders, just as they were said to have been responsible for incidents of kidnapping such as the abduction of twin sisters on their wedding day in November. The sisters were only released after parting with about N15 million as ransom. In the first week of June this year, bandits killed 23 people, with the state police command identifying most of the victims as “vigilantes who put up a fight against the bandits.”
To say the least, the bandits have declared a war by literally placing the state under the siege. Sadly, the security agencies are seemingly overwhelmed and overstretched in their duty posts across the country. When the 16 policemen were killed, the police top hierarchy avoided making any official comments and clarifications, until the conventional mass media and relations of the bereaved families cried out. The police later admitted that 20 of its personnel went missing after a bloody confrontation with the criminals. “Sixteen police personnel were found dead after the rescue operations carried out by the police Joint Intervention Force,” the Zamfara State Command announced to a beleaguered public, adding that its operation also resulted in the successful rescue of 20 police personnel believed to have been missing after the attack. Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Habila Joshak, who led the operation, explained that the force needed to establish critical facts concerning the attack that claimed the lives of the 16 policemen.
Following the worsening security situation in Zamfara in 2017, President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered the military to launch Operation Harbin Kunama, designed to flush out the gangsters, while the state government introduced an amnesty programme aimed at mopping up all the illegal arms and ammunition in circulation. The Federal Government even went further by approving the stationing of a full battalion of Special Forces in Zamfara. A Joint Task Force comprising men of the Air Force, Nigerian Army and the police is currently involved in the offensive to rid the state of bandits. While the military claimed that intelligence reports showed that some communities were harbouring the criminals, the state government has, on its part, either deposed or demoted some traditional rulers over their alleged collusion with bandits.
Despite all these measures, the dimension of the security challenges in the state remains precarious. Without contradiction, the Zamfara scenario represents a systemic failure which needs to be addressed quickly. The security architecture appears to be completely suspect in the face of increasing challenges that require modern techniques and approaches, which the bandits appear to have understudied in order to step up their devilish acts. Therefore, the solution lies in new thinking, tactics and precise execution, particularly as the ongoing terror unleashed by bandits is an affront to the Nigerian state. The war must be won convincingly and without further delay to restore public confidence in the institutions of government. The people of Zamfara have suffered for too long at the hands of the mindless few that have chosen to make the state unsafe and ungovernable.
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