Bandits: Katsina Under Siege

By Suleiman Umaru

 Not many people could believe that Katsina,  President  Muhmmadu Buhari, home state, could be under the siege of Bandits. This is because of the tight security  in the state.  Residents told The Value News that the situation is worse in Kankara local government area which is giving Usman Kankara Bello, a retired Comptroller of Customs and  now the  District  Head of the Area a cause for concern.

According to sources ,the monarch major worry is the killing of his people by the Bandits  despite the numerous security checkpoints in the local government area which is enough to put fears  on the Bandits not to near the area , let alone carry out any attack .

Investigation by The Value News shows that over 10 police checkpoints between  Yantumaki village and Kankara, alone but that has not stopped  the villages  along the road been attacked or shops  lootedwith little or no resistance from the security operatives  fueling  speculations that there might be an element of sabotage to embarrass the President who is from the state.

Note that there are about 10 villages  between Yetumaki and Kankara. The villages include Pawwa, Katoge, Korawa, Dan Hayi, Gidan Mai Godiya, Gida Dan Marbi and Yar Kuka. In the recent  attack in the area, the Bandits were said to have killed over 18 people and injurd several others. Many  houses  were said  to have been vehicles were said to have been set ablaze while shops were looted. It was learnt  that three women and some children were kidnapped and had not been rescued.

In a pparent anger to the attacks and the killings in the villages, were said to have taken to the streets  blocking all access  roads  to Katsina , the state Capital  which many motorists did not find funny as they were forced to divert to longer routes to take their passengers from  Sokoto, Kano, or Kastina to their destinations .

While Bello, Kawan  Katsina and his people were still mourning the victims of last Saturday attack by the Bandits, the hoodlums struck again on Wednesday , July 3, 2019, and killed 11 additional people in separate attacks  in the Kankara villages, the Bandits    may have extended their attack to  Dan Musa local government area   of the state  where 16 people  were said to have been killed in Maidabino viiage during a matket day.The Bandits may have forced the  traders to abandon their market as they started shhoting spradically, thus , giving them the opportunity to cart away their food stuff and looted the shops to hideout in the Kankara and Dan Musa forest.

There are indications that  some youths in Kakankra, particular, have volunteered to take security operatives to the Bandits hideouts but they must be well equipped to be ble confront them headlong. But that was how far the youths could go

Abdulmumni Kabir Usman, the Emir of Kano,  who is not happy over what is happening in his state, has promised to do everything within his powers  to address the security  challenges  to stop the killings. 

He was not happy when the corpse of  those who fell to the Bandits bullet were conveyed in different buses to his palace. The Emir was said to have taken up the matter with Bello Massari, a former Speaker, House of Representatives and governor of the state who assured that the government would not leave them to the challenge.    

Security watchers believe that the  Bandits attack in Katsina state may have been on the increase  in the recent time because Zamfara, their operational base  appears to have become too hot for them because of the activities of Abubakar Adamu, the Inspector General of Police, IGP’s, Joint Operation team in the state . The police Joint Operation team were said to have destroyed several of their hideout locations that they were forced to relocate to Katsina state to continue their attacks on the people and further create tension in the north west geo-political region.

The situation in Zamfara state may have been worsened for the Bandits by the no nonsense IGP, with the deployment of special Forces  personnel, Counter-Terrorism  Unit, police Mobile Force  and Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, as well as three Surveillance helicopters to support the ground officers.The security situation in the country, particular, Katsina state, may have forced Turkur Buratai, a Lt. General and Chief of Army Stff , CAS, and Head of other Security agencies to meet  Buhari at the Presidential Villa  on Wednesday, July 3, 2019,to avail him of the new strategies  that had been deployed  to tackle the menace of insecurity in the country .

The meeting was said to have been held behind closed doorwith no hold bar discussion.  The President , according to sources , had initiated the regular security meeting with Heads of the security agencies to know their extant  problems and where the government can come in to support them to do sustain the tempo of flushing out the terrorists and Bandits operating in different parts of the country including tackling the activities of the kidnappers and the arm robbers.

An elated Sadique Abubakar, an Air Marshall and Chief of Air Staff, CAS, who could not hide his feelings when he  emerged  from the top security  meeting said  the ”new strategies  deployed to tackle insecurity in the country have begun to yield results”.

The Air Force Chief noted that ,though  the new tactics deployed by the  security agencies awere yielding the desired results, there is need for people  to avail the security operativs  of the relevant information that could help them neutralise the untoward activities of the criminal elements in any part of the country. 

Adamu, the police IGP, who  may have concentrated the Police Joint Operation team in the north west, has promised  that they would continue to attack and smoke out the Bandits from their hideouts  that they would become incapacited to launch any attack again in any part of the country. Buratai, whose men are fighting the terrorists in in the north eastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, had said that  troops of Operation Lafiya Dole, will continue to ”map out  strategies  to attack the enclaves  of Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West African Province,ISWAP, a breakaway faction of the Islamic Fundamentalist Group until they are completely incapacitated to rise up against any military bse in the region.

He disclosed that the smoking out   Operation has commenced with the troops of 812 Battalion, repelling the Insurgents attack in Gajigana Community in Borno state. Security sources  told The Magazine that but for the quick intervention of the Abdulmalik Biu, a Brigadier General and GOC, 7 Division and Commander ,Sector 1, Operation Lfiya Dole,  in the state,  several lives would have been lost  in the Gajigana Community of the state. The Brigadier -General had confirmed that the Insurgents who mounted their  gun fitted trucks  had  attempted   to infiltrate and attack the Forward  Operation Base at 212 Tank Battalion  but were repelled barely    two days  a similar planned attack on  120 Battalion, Goniri, Yobe state, in which  five  gun trucks and a catches  of arms  and ammunition were recovered by the soldiers from them.