Banditry: Time to tame the spreading wings of a devouring beast
The heightening of panic from insecurity across Nigeria has assumed an unsavoury profile, as many now live in panic and utter anxiety within their homes. The malady’s impact on the social, economic, psychological and emotional aspects of citizens worsens by the day. The effect has no doubt, left no part of the Country untouched, either directly or indirectly. This, in turn, bears resonance to the deepening of poor record of living conditions in the Country.
It is now pathetic that several arms of insecurity are rising to troubling heights, infusing disturbances into daily life. One of such arms of insecurity which has expanded its tentacles to the height of shaking the Country is the menace of banditry. This arm of insecurity in Nigeria has recently widened its hold across the Country. While the menace was known to be on the low record of operation in some areas in the North-west, its tentacles have however evolved to a troubling phenomenon, spreading like a wild fire across other parts of the Country. Reports now have it that the foothold of the menace is extending into the South. Most recently, some highways along the South particularly those linking with the North are now traps and trouble zones for travellers for fear of being nicked by untamed bandits who mercilessly subject their captives to agonising maltreatment. The narrative of the ordeal of those who had fallen victims of these bandits have never been so tolerable to the ear. Experiences such as rape, torture, payment of heavy ransom, dispossession of properties, and more horrendous, gruesome killings, among others, are inhumane narratives that send fear down the spine of the common man.
However, while the South has continued to make efforts to wade off the threshold of banditry into its territory, the menace has continued to build incontrollable momentum in the North. Reports of gruesome attacks of bandit groups continue to resonate daily, heightening fear. Reports arrived on how armed bandits on Sunday night invaded Wusasa in Zaria local government area, and kidnapped the Wazirin Wusasa, Professor Aliyu Mohammed. Prof. Aliyu Mohammed is of the Department of Agriculture, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi. While he was abducted, his son, Abdulaziz, was killed. A son of the kidnapped professor, Mr Usman Aliyu, in his narrative of the ordeal, told journalists in Zaria that the incident took place on Sunday at about 10:30pm. According to him, besides kidnapping his father and killing one of his brothers, they also shot Malam Abubakar Kabir, who is a younger brother to the deceased (Abdulaziz Aliyu).
In confirmation, the Kaduna State Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, had on Monday night disclosed that report from security agencies to the Kaduna State Government revealed that armed bandits on Sunday, also attacked commuters on the road from Anaba village to Birnin Yero town in Igabi local government area.
He was quoted: “One Lawali Abdulhameed, a resident of Anaba village, was shot dead by the bandits as he attempted to escape the attack. Similarly, armed bandits on motorcycles swarmed Iyatawa village of Giwa local government area. Groups of local vigilantes confronted the bandits, eventually forced them to disperse. Two of the local vigilantes, Malam Auwalu and Alassan Shehu, were killed during the encounter, as ground and air patrols were quickly mobilized to the location for a comprehensive engagement.”
No fewer than eight persons were again reported killed by bandits in Dutsin Gari and Rayau villages of Maru local government area of Zamfara state in fresh attacks. It was gathered that the bandits who were on motorcycles invaded the two villages on Monday night with the intention of abducting some people but were ardently confronted by battle-ready villagers. Their reprisal attack on Tuesday after some villagers had fled for dear life, left a number of persons dead, houses razed and domestic animals carted away.
While terrorism in the North has had its ravaging effects on the entire Country, particularly the North East, the evolution of banditry is most recently assuming a devastating turn which is spreading fast across the Country. The effects on the economy have been unsavoury. While the Government strives to build on diversifying the economy through strengthening agriculture, it is apparent the menace of bandit attacks have most recently crippled agricultural productivity across farm settlements in the North. The resultant effects have been felt in the skyrocketing of food inflation in the Country. The accounts of several other socio-economic and political impacts are sources of concern that demand urgent attention.
The worsening profile of insecurity is a force against investment in the Country. No investor would wish to invest where the reign of insecurity renders uncertainty in the atmosphere of business environment. The heightening of security threats in the Country has negatively worsened the profile of ease-of-doing business in Nigeria. Struggles towards revamping the economy may continue to face frustration in as much as security details do not improve in the Country. As banditry begins to wax its wings stronger in the Country, it is pertinent for the Government to take a whip to flush the menace into inexistence. It is undoubtedly expedient to rise to the challenge. The sensation of fear and feeling of being insecure on the part of the populace, speaks no well of a Government whose primary responsibility is to ensure optimum security of lives and properties.
It is therefore sine qua non for the Federal Government in collaboration with State Governments and local authorities to come to the drawing table, devise a network of security architecture to fight the menace of banditry and pull its holds down to the ground. A continuous handling of the situation with levity may bear untoward effects on the Country in the nearest future. History bears resonance to how the inept and nonchalant attitude of the Government in the past, gave ample room for Boko-haram terrorism to thrive. Its expanded wings have continued to trouble the foundations of the Country for over a decade.
It is therefore paramount for the present Government to embrace reason, tackle the threats of banditry to the Country, and act with force, alacrity in strategic comportment to address the prevailing unsavoury situation.
