By Stephen Ubanna
For years, Federal Operations Unit, FOU, Zone B, Kaduna, and other parts of the north western geopolitical region anti-smuggling operations was at a zero level. This is because of the activities of the Bandits Group in the region.
The zero level of the Interventionist Unit anti-smuggling operations may have been pronounced in Goripa Community in Kaduna, South, Jere, Chikun Local Government Area of the state and in Birin Gwari Communities of the north western state, thus making it difficult for the Command Patrol teams personnel to operate freely.
At Goripa, described as haven for the Bandits Group fighters who are armed to the teeth, the criminal elements regularly emerge from the forest to raid the farming Community, kidnap victims around the area where Commercial vehicles coming from Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT and other parts of the state drop their passengers, mostly in the late hours of the day.
Many believe that the Bandits Group could have their way in the Farming Community, Chikun and Birni Gwari Comunities, particular, because the forests that covers the states of Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, and Sokoto including Kebbi are inter linked, thus making it easy for the criminal elements to operate and maintain the four north western states as their hideouts.
Compt. Bashir Hamisu, a-one-time , Area Controller of the FOU, Zone B, Kaduna, in his strive to contain the activities of the Bandits turned smugglers in the north western state and other parts of the region, including the north central states of Benue, Plateau, Kogi, Nasarawa, Kwara, Niger, may have informed why he was said to have strengthened collaboration with the Commissioners of Police in the seven states that make up the region to effectively tackle the security challenges to give his officers a breather to carry out their anti-smuggling operations in their areas of jurisdiction.
Compt. Chedi Wada, another Area Controller of the Command and now Compt. Enforcement, at the Customs Headquarters, may have continued from where his predecessor had stopped in battling the Bandits’ turned smugglers but that was how far he could go. The Bandits’ turned smugglers may have known that the game is up with the deployment of Compt Bello Ahmadou Shuaibu, who was said to have given the drug syndicate and arms dealers operating between Nigeria and neighbouring Benin Republic, was deployed from Ogun I, Idiroko, to the FOU, Zone B, Kaduna, Command, in February 2024.
Compt. Shuiabu, who had succeeded Compt. Wada, may have sent a message to the Bandits’ turned smugglers that it is no longer going to be business as he restragised on how to stop the supply of hard drugs to the Bandits Group fighters in the forest to further harden them to continue their Criminal activities in the north western states.
As a prelude to getting it right in Kduna state, fora start, he was said have taken advantage of the tight security thathad been mounted by the military along the Kaduna – the FCT, road, which was said to have restored normalcy on the road to ensure that his Patrol teams officers go about their business of anti-smuggling operations and establish checkpoints at strategic locations in Kaduna and other parts of north western and north geopolitical regions.
The Customs Comptroller, who was said to have thrown his weight behind the Command Parol team Leaders and their officers to do their job, may have encouraged them to go all out to make spectacular, Contraband and drug seizures including bags of the Asian country of Thailand par boiled rice and Indian Agricultural par boiled rice.
At Goripa Community, which was a no- go area for security operatives including Customs patrol team officers appears to have become a thing of the past. The Value News in an underground investigation of what is happening along the Kaduna FCT, road, recently, had sighted FOU, Zone B, patrol team doing their usual work on the road of routine check of suspected vehicles without causing obstruction on the road. The good news was that the patrol team had parked their branded vehicle, at their location at strategic location at the Goripa farming Community as the officers clutching their AK 47, are on the red alert to ward of any unprovoked attack from any quarter.
A resident of the Community who spoke to the Magazine online had said that Compt. Shuaibu and his officers, may not have succeeded in putting the bandits’ turned smugglers at bay in doing what they are used to doing in the state over the last nine months without the support of Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, the Customs Comptroller General.
Note that the FOU, Zone B, Area Controller may have demonstrated that he has the capacity to deal decisively with the unrepentant bandits’ turned smugglers as he was said to have adopted the same strategy his capability used in Ogun , home state of former President Olusegn Obasanjo, home state , which the Nigerian Immigration service, NIS, had pointed has over 90 illegal routes used by the smugglers to carry out their nefarious activities and human trafficking to. repeat same north western and north central regions. This is evident with the seizure of hard drugs meant for the bandits in their forest hideouts in the regions., which somewhat had weakened their operating capabilities.
The fou, Zone B, Command, under the close watch of Comptroller may have sent a message to the bandits -turned smugglers and their Civilian Collaborators that it is no longer going to be business as usual, as one of the Command patrol teams, was said to have made a bold statement as the team intercepted some illicit drugs allegedly being taken to the bandits operating in the notorious Saminaka forest in the state. The FOU, Zone B, Kaduna, no nonsense Area Controller, who was said to have set a track record at Ogun I, Command, Idiroko, and giving equal opportunities to to deliver on their mandate of making Contraband and drug seizures was said to have made a seizure of 50,740 sachets of Tramadol and 48,000 amules of Analgen on May 2, 2024. Since the May incident, other patrol teams in the state and other states in the north western and north central geopolitical regions are said to have been competing to make more illicit drug seizures.
.The Customs Comptroller, who was impressed by the May, 2, 2024, drug seizure had said that the operation that led to the seizure of the dangerous drugs being supplied to the bandits was conducted in the Saminaka/Nimbiya/ Kafanchan axis of southern Kaduna , barely three months in office, which Valuation experts had put the value of the drugs at N167.5 million.
An eye witness account had said that the drugs which were said to have been concealed in motor spare parts by the supplier may have played into the hands of the FOU, Zone B, patrol team officers who are acting out the script of the Customs Area Controller as he was said to have properly equipped them on how to identify these drug peddlers without any exchange of words or gun duel.
There are indications that one of the suspects caught in the act of supplying the dangerous drugs to the bandits turned smugglers operating in the Saminaka forest, was arrest and currently helping the Kaduna state Police Command in their investigation. The intensified effort by the FOU, Zone B, Kaduna, Patrol team officers , particular, in Kaduna state, with the collaboration of the Nigerian Police Force, NPF, personnel and the soldiers which set up camps in all flashpoint Local Government Local Government Areas in the state and blockage of sources of supply of drugs to the bandits Group fighters in their forest hightout may have informed why banditry appears to reduced drastically in Kaduna state as people could travel freely along the Kaduna -FCT, road, without fear of attack or being kidnapped by Bandits emerging from their forest hideouts. This is why President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, deserves to be appreciated by all Nigerian for giving the post humous, award of the Grand Commander of the federal Republic of Nigeria, GCFR, to the deceased Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, former Chief of Army Staff, CoAS for taking the battle to the bandits camp in the forest, clearing the way for FOU, Zone B, patrol team officers in the seven north western and six north central states to do their job and achieve impeccable results.
Olufemi Oluyede, a Lt. Gen. and new CoAS, appears to sustained the tempo of military operations in the north western and north central geopolitical regions and support to the Customs Intervention Units across the north western, north central and north eastern regions to do their jobs without molestation by the criminal elements , described as’’ blood suckers’’.
