Bandits Declare Total War On Katsina State

Suleiman Umaru

Inspite of the fact Bello Massari, a former Speaker of House of Representatives and  governor of  Katsina, President Muhammadu Buhari, home  state, has signed into Law, the mandatory death  penalty  Bill passed  by  the state House of Assembly,  it has not  deterred the Bandits  from carrying out their attacks on Communities in the state.

Barely  one week of signing the mandatory death penalty  Bill into law, the Bandits were said to have launched a fresh attack  in Dan Ali Village  in Dan Musa local government Area of the state. Note that the local government has been under constant attack of the  criminal elements in the recent time forcing the Katsina state born Nigerian President to summon  Massari to the Presidential  Villas for talks on howto address the security challenge.

The Bandits were said to have kidnapped  three persons   in the Dan Musa local government Community  during the attack and carted away  undisclosed amount of money and valuables from victims. Malam Tukur Dan Ali, an indigene of the Dan Ali, Ali , village, who lost one of his  relatives to the Kidnappers, said  the hoodlums  entered the village on Tuesday,  May 21, 2019, with motor cycles, armed to the teeth around 1.25 am and started  shooting sporadically into the air  to scare the people from putting up any resistance.

 Appearing on Channel Television in a very pensive mood,  an aggrieved Ali,  disclosed  that the Bandits fired several gun shots   on their way to houses of   Alhaji Musa and Alhaji Gambo, where the three victims were kidnapped, an indication that there may a mole from the village who  is feeding the  Bandits with information on when to strike without any security operatives challenge.  

Hajiya  Fatimah, one of the female  Kidnapped victims was said to have been released unconditionally by the Bandits but two of the yound men kidnapped along with her are still in their Custody.  The worry of Ali , was that  in spite of the distress calls made to the security operatives in the local government Headquarters  to  mobilise quickly to the village to confront the Bandits who were wrecking  hovoc on the people, they never showed until  5.30 am, the next day.

Note  that   Bandits attacks and kidnapping  cases have been on the increase in the recent time Katsina, thus turning  the state to another Zamfara, which  the Bandits have held hostage over the the last two yers.  There is no gain saying the fact that the high level of insecurity in the  state  may have forced  indigenes of the state  from all walks of life   to urge the  President  to declare a state of emergency in the state as ”quickly as possible , before the situation degenerate to total war.

The President , according to security sources are no longer finding the situation in Katsina  state and  indeeded, the  north western  geo-political region  in general, funny, as he has consistently met with the security Chiefs and Abubakar Adamu, the Inspector General  of Police, IGP,  to intensify their efforts to crush the rampaging  Bandits in the state. The Bandits may have sent a signal to  the President and Commander  In-Chief  of the Armed Forces  and the service Chiefs that  they have entered Katsina state  and may not easily  be dislodged when they kidnapped Musa Daura,  a retireed former Comptroller, of Federal Operations, Unit, FOU, ZoneA, and now , Magaji Garin, of Daura, the second in hierachy of Authority  in  Daura Emirate Council and whose whereabouts remain unknown. The recent attack on  Dan Ali village , in Dan Musa  local government  , which had been under the constant attack of the Bandits may have forced  Adamu , to rijig the PUFF  Adder security apparatus to be more effective.    

Security sources told The Value News  that Adamu , the IGP,  who is determined to restore peace  and stability i the state , has deployed more fierce looking  Puff Adder members to the state , particular to the flash point local governments. this  may have gladdened the heart of the President  , who is optimistic that peace  would surely return to the soon.  

There are fears that  the Bandits  who may  be forced to  go underground because of the superior fire power of the Puff Adder  members may resort to guerrilla tactics  where they  could easily  lay ambush for  security operatives  in the bush.

This is why Tukur Buratai, a Lt. General and Chief of Army Staff, must ensure that the ban on the use of motorcycles around the military operational bases in the seven north western states  are implemented to the later. Many believe that if the  police and the military could increase their surveillance of the flash point local government  and  open a channel of Communication with the people, they would be able to fish out the moles  among the people and the deal decisively with the Bandits.

Security analysts believe that  the Bandits may have entered  Katsina state, to dare the President , to come up hard on them, in order  to turn  the region  as another north east, ostensibly to divert  his attention from fulfilling his 2019 , electioneering Campaign  promises to the people . the security Chiefs may have known the plans of the Bandits and their sponsors , both within and outside the country , that they   are threading with caution in handling the security challenge in the  Katsina and other flash point states in the north west.