Banditry: The ‘Lies’ About Fighting The Scourge In Nigeria

By Abdu Labaran Malumfashi

The recent capture of the bandit, Kachalla Baleri in the Republic of Niger is making the rounds on the social media via a viral video with the caption: ‘Nigeria is not serious about fighting banditry in the country’. This is currently causing quite stir and disquiet in the country, especially within the leadership of the nation’s’ military.

The video, which I have received ten times on the same day from friends, and also saw on a number of platforms on my WhatsApp account, shows an Islamic scholar from the northern part of Nigeria, speaking about the capture of the infamous bandit, Kachalla Baleri by the Nigerien Army in a town in that country. He also accused the Nigerian leadership of unseriousness in the fight against banditry, which is giving some of the people in the region sleepless nights.

The (same) video clip, which may have even been received by others a number of times more than myself, has been wiped out from most WhatsApp accounts by unknown persons. This is to show the importance and topicality of the matter in the said video.

Kachalla Baleri was said to be a forefront ‘boy’ of the more infamous bandit, Bello Turji, who ‘hides’ in the plain sight of every body, including the local chiefs and the locality’s security operatives. He lives openly in his community and was even ‘honoured’ with a chieftaincy tittle by the local district head.

The bandits had the temerity to be at the past Eid prayer, to where they rode on motorcycles with their sophisticated weapons under their arms. It is a surprise at which god they were offering the prayer, because they would revert to their ‘trade’ of killings and abductions of innocent people as soon as they are through with their charade.

I have written three articles in the past on the subject of insecurity in the north. Such articles include ‘Insecurity And The Challenge Of The North West (18/5/2024), ‘Begging: Northern Leaders Who Saw Tomorrow’ (12/5/2024), and ‘Security: Governor Radda Was Right’ (14/2/2024).

It is a known fact that banditry and other forms of terrorism are at the moment some of the nation’s biggest security nightmares in the country, especially in the Northern part of Nigeria.

It has reached the point that local farmers have to ask for permission from the bandits to be allowed to farm their farmlands. For the permission, the farmers have to pay some ‘ransom’. However, if they are not able to pay or paid behind the ‘schedule’ given to then, they are often visited with vengeance and avariciousness by the bandits, who always ended their invasions with killings of livestock and their owners, looting of stored food items and abductions for ransom.

Surprisingly however, foreigners are hardy found to be victims of the insurgents, either as those killed or as those kidnapped. The menaces seem to be reserved for locals only.

The later gave food for thought to most people in the affected places, which perhaps explained the recent outburst of the Katsina Governor, Dr. Dikko Umar Radda, PhD, CON against the Nigerian Military.

The condemnable activities of Boko Haram, Islam In the States of Africa (ISIS) and their sponsors have been a source of great concern to the nation, especially, to the Northern Governors Forum (NGF)

Trillions of Naira and thousands of lives of both civilians and military (some of which were collateral damages) are already lost in the ’battle’ against the scourge in the country.
The money is said to be ‘spent’ in the procurement of military helicopters such as planes, helicopters, guns and ammunition, among other ‘fighting equipment’.

The loss of the lives occurs weekly, if not almost, on daily basis in the country in the battle fields as well as in what is referred to as ‘collateral damages’ or unintended casualties in the furious ‘battle’ against the bandits and other terroris. About 4,545 people were said to have been killed in the not too distant future by the bandits and other terrorists in the country, more especially in the North.

There is an ongoing ‘battle of words’ between the Katsina State governor and the leadership of the Nigerian Military over the latter’s allegation of complicity by the military in the fight against the rampaging banditry in the northern part of the country.

The Katsina state governor had accused the Military of involvement in the banditry in the north, alleging that it was the reason why the battle against the culprits was not won in the country.

His ‘candour’ about the allegation of the military complicity has earned him both praise and criticism from some quarters including the media. The main stream media and the online media have both been of praise and condemnation against the governor, in almost equal measure.

While some praised him saying that he has done the right thing by telling the military its ‘fault’, because what he said represented the mind of his people, other media outfits looked at it differently, accusing him of ‘playing politics’ with the issue of security. They said that the governor ‘should have used the many non public options available to him’ to channel his grievances and anger to the military.

But furious about the allegation, the Defence Headquarters challenged the Governor to substantiate his assertion.

It maintained that the allegation was not only false but unfounded, since the military also lost many of its soldiers in the fight against the bandits. It added that it was also ‘winning’ the battle against them and their dastardly activities almost on ‘daily’ basis.

Not long ago, the Northern Governors’ Forum (NGF) was in the US where it was said to have brainstormed on the insecurity buffeting their area with ‘security experts’ in the host country.

It defended the trip on the necessity for the governors to find a better and more robust way of fighting the insecurity war in the region, adding that the trip is worth its while as they have gained a lot from their hosts, who have ‘more advanced weapons and experience in fighting terrorism in every part of the world.

However, many people in the north entertain the suspicion that the organising nation and or some of its allies in the Western World may be responsible for the intractable banditry in Nigeria, on account of the confessions of captured terrorists, who claimed to have been receiving some of their sophisticated weapons from a helicopter piloted by ‘white’ men.

Other people like the former Governor of Jigawa State and a chieftain of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Sule Lamido, said the US visit was unnecessary and a waste of the tax payers money, adding that since the US extended the invitation, its ’experts’ should have come to Nigeria instead.

But he got ‘scared’ in some quarters for expressing this view by some of the official and unofficial supporters of those who undertook the trip. On their part, they argued that, where lives were involved, ‘no amount of money spent was too much’.

Not withstanding the banditry and other security challenges confronting the nation, the Federal Government seemed to have nothing better to worry about than the change of the National Anthem from the new back to the old. The new National Anthem was written and sung by Nigerians, while the old one was written by an English woman, who penned her words during the colonial times.

I am yet to hear any patriotic Nigerian supporting this backward policy, except those who think of nothing but their pockets. Many of this kind kind have nothing better to do than collect humongous amount of money as their monthly salary and sleep until another end of the month comes, for, the reader’s guess is as good as everybody else’s.

Malam Malumfashi wrote from Abuja