Insecurity: Dismantling the roving networks of banditry

The escapades of bandits in Nigeria has seen insecurity situation worsening in the Country with a misadventurous estate coming out of the ugly phenomenon. The menace which begun in a mild tune has seen the Country been heated by the ravages of mischievous escapades destabilising communal cohabitation, while rousing an anxiety-ridden atmosphere which has been dispelling sensations of safety and security. The menace has now inarguably spread its strings with resonance of dread as the prevailing situation in the Country presents unfair coloration of turbulence.

The extension of the estate of banditry across the Country has graduated to become an albatross. As one of the systemic error traceable to the grounding of the menace, the silence of the Federal Government over a long period to criminalise and condemn arm wielding by mischievous elements among herdsmen whose modus operandi speaks volume to the working patterns of the prevailing gross seated banditry, poses deep seated conundra. Hence, discourse over the ground factors which engineered degeneration of situation seeing banditry become an estate of turbulence ravaging the Country, has become clustered.

The unprompted disposition of the Government to address the menace at the nascent stage, has left gaps of exploitation which have informed the evolution of the misadventure growing into an estate of horror which criminally inclined elements have seen as a ready resort to make ways. Recently, the turn of bandit groups to imbibing the kidnap-for-ransom misadventure which used to be a phenomenon in the South-south at the wake of the Niger Delta Amnesty struggles, has seen the mayhem heightening the narratives of insecurity in the Country. The deficiencies of the approach of the Government, which appears more or less unsystematic, have seen bandits making formations which have subjected several classes of persons in the society, as potential victims, to inhumane conditions. The graduation of the estates with extending networks unto disturbing height, has seen the records of soft targets assuming broader inclusions. While the menace could be traced to have had farmers and their settlements at the root of targets at the nascent stage, the estate of the menace has seen school children recently coming under the list of soft targets. The abduction of traditional rulers has recently become a recurring phenomenon to join the scale of important persons (VIP) who form their soft targets. The more dehumanising part of the narratives has been the killings of their victims even after collecting ransom. While some victims go with the luck of release after huge payment of ransom, many unlucky ones have suffered the fate of gruesome killings either without prompt payment or by gross wickedness even after receiving ransom payment. Recently, it would be recalled that a kidnap gang led by one 53-year-old, Jethro Nguyen, an indigene of Bokos, who hired 10 others including some Fulani herders to abduct Pa Defwan Dariye, the father of former governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye, had after receiving the sum of N10million murdered the 93-year-old victim after 10 days of  kidnapping him from his palace. No less can be mentioned of the plight of those, who after kidnap, it became difficult for their families to gather the humongous sum demanded by their captors, many of whom were subjected to inhumane treatments and at critical times, their killings by the mischievous malefactors.

As the security operatives are finding it more difficult to end the estate of banditry by die-hard approach, it behooves Government authorities to adopt strong systemic approach in tackling the phenomenon. In this light, attacking the rootings of the estates to break down the working networks of the menace becomes important. It is apparent that the operation of bandits in the Country has not been without a network that keeps the estate running and expanding with agents of their operations seated across far and near communities holding bearings to their operating locales. It therefore behooves Government authorities to turn to approaching the fight against the menace by systemic patterns driven by intelligence; such that all channels through which their networking agents connect to supply their inputs are cut off.

Such expression find resemblance in the interception of vehicles conveying food, fuel, drinks and other essentials to various bandit camps in Zamfara state on Wednesday.  It would be recalled that Secretary of the State’s Special Taskforce on Security, Mr Abdulrasheed Haruna, had said, “The suspected collaborators were handed over to security agencies for further investigation while those with light offences were being tried by a mobile court established by the taskforce. The closure of weekly markets and filling stations by the government has curtailed supplies of food and other essential services to the bandits. We believe that these have forced the bandits to relocate enmass from the state.”

The heightening of insecurity mayhem in the State entangled by bandit operations, mass kidnapping for ransom, and cattle rustling, among others, had last month informed the Zamfara State Governor, Muhammad Matawalle, to sign executive orders in line with the relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended. The executive orders had directed: “All weekly markets activities within Zamfara State are hereby suspended. Ingress and egress for all cars or vehicles by whatever name called within Zamfara State shall be from 6:00am to 10:00pm excluding Firefighters, Ambulances, Patrol vehicles, Health Personnel and Journalists. No bicycle, motorcycle shall carry more than one passenger; in the case of tricycle, three passengers. No bicycle, motorcycle and tricycle shall ply any road or rat run within Zamfara State between the hours of 6:30pm to 6:00am, while in Gusau metropolis shall be between 8:00pm. to 6:00am. No firewood or charcoal shall be transported from the bush to any part of Zamfara state by bicycle, motorcycle, tricycle, car, articulated vehicle, lorry truck or any vehicle by whatever name called. No sheep or cow shall be transported into or outside Zamfara State. The sale of petroleum products by filling stations within the control of a village head is banned. Filling stations shall not sell petroleum products in jerry cans or any other container to any customer. No filling station shall sell more than five litres to motorcyclists, tricyclists and 40 litres to any vehicle. All shops, Kiosks, Containers, Tents and Stands located at Garejin Mailaina, Gusau are hereby closed. A Special Taskforce is hereby established to ensure full compliance with this order while mobile courts are hereby established to deal with violators.”

The traditional approach to fighting the menace of banditry in the Country has proven its inefficiencies. The menace  against subsiding, has rather seen expansion of its estate with ravaging impacts on socio-economic and political architectures of the Country. The need for a change in strategy cannot be overemphasised. It is therefore imperative for Government authorities to take a strategic turn to clampdown on the menace by attacking the working networks of the estate through systemic patterns to block the channels of the roving networks through which bandits have been receiving both material and human inputs as well as operation intelligence. Hence, strengthening the incorporation of intelligence to the measures of security agencies to track the channels of connection of banditry towards dismantling the working networks in locales across the Country is sacrosanct.