By Lateef Adegbite
President Muhammadu Buhari, appears to have made the international community to understand that Nigeria will not be able to contain the activities of the trans- border terrorists and Bandits terrorizing the country alone.
The Katsina state born Nigerian President had said that Nigeria will need more international collaboration ‘’to checkmate terrorism and Banditry posing as a threat’’. The Nigerian President who could not hide his feelings when the Canadian High Commissioner, Ambassador James Kingston Christoff and Ambassador Juan Alfred Mirand Oritz, of Mexico, submitted their Letters of credence to him at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, had said that though, the Nigerian government had made meaningful progress I tackling terrorism and Banditry in the country with the support of the friendly countries but would still need more international support to sustain the efforts.
He may have alluded to the support of the North American countries of the United states,US, Canada and Mexico in order to encourage the two North American countries Ambassadors to impress it upon their home governments to support Nigeria the more in this trying times.
.There is no gain saying the fact that terrorism and Banditry have been on the increase in the Sahel region, which Buhari had said was intended ‘’to scuttle democratic sustenance in the west and central African sub- regions because of the political instability in the North African country of Libya’’. He had told the Canadian and Mexican Ambassadors that ‘’the country is not left out of the equation as Banditry, kidnapping, herder/farmers crisis and insurgency are on the increase in the country.
Ahmad Lawan, Senate President, had described the insecurity situation in the country as ‘frightening’’, noting that ‘’there is no- where to hide or go in this country today’’. The Borno state born Senate President has throwna challenge to the Buhari appointed service and intelligence Chiefs ‘’to come up with an effective solution , as the crisis is gradually dislocating Abuja, where the Head of government is situated’’.
An aggrieved Lawan may have indicted Buhari when he said ‘‘the laxity with which the security issue of the country was being tackled is appalling’’ .Sheikh Abubakar Gumi, a Muslim Cleric, had accused the Buhari Administration of spending $16 billion over the last seven years to tackle terrorism in the north east states of Borno, Yobe and Banditry,in the north west states of Zamfara, described as home state of the Bandits, Sokoto, Kaduna , Katsina, the President home state and Niger, home state of Ibrahim Babangida, a former Nigerian military President without commensurate impact on security in the country.
While the Nigerian government is still grappling with the security challenges of the country which had lingered on between 2009 and now, the Federal ministry of Finance, Budget and National planning, at the instance of the Nigerian President has purchased vehicles worth N1.4 million to help Niger Republic to tackle its own security challenges. That much was confirmed by, Hajia Zainab Ahmed, the minister.
She may have shocked Nigerians when she disclosed that ‘’providing intervention to the neighbouring West African country was not new’’ , meaning that the Nigerian President who has the prerogative to do so has been supporting the neighbouring Niger Republic , over the last seven years when the security situation in the country was getting worse on a daily basis.The most advertised of such helps was the Kano- Katsina –Mahradi railway project which was said to have taken off and the gas and oil pipeline which has become an issue in world politics.
The Nigerian government may have decided to support the Nigerien government to tackle the issues of insecurity, particular, cattle rustling and Banditry in the Mahradi region which spread to Zamfara state in 2011 and subsequently to other north west states of Katsina, Kaduna, Sokoto and the north central state of Niger. Note that there have also been occasional attacks on communities in Plateau and Taraba, home state of Theophilous Danjuma, a retired Army General and former minister of Defence during Olusegun Obasanjo Administartion.
Many are worried that linking the Kaduna-Katsina rail line to Mahradi region in Niger Republic would further worsen the insecurity situation in Nigeria. Mohammed Bazoum, the Nigerien President had told Bello Mohammed Matawalle, governor of Zamfara state in December 2021,that the armed Bandits whohave entered into Nigeria to cause havoc came through the country’s Mahradi region. He had said that the criminal elements had entered the region from Madawa and Bayan Dutsi regions which are close to Mauritania and the North African country of Libya.
Until the Nigerian President approved the purchase of N1.4 billion vehicles to support the Nigerien government to battle its insecurity challenges, Matawalle, the Zamfara state governor had donated five brand new Hilux vehicles to the governor of the Mahradi region to help in the fight against terrorism. Only recently, Bazoum, the Nigerien President gave a National award to Matawalle, Abubakar Bagudu, and Abubakar Badaru, all governors of north wet states of Zamfara, Kebbi and Jigawa respectively for their contribution towards addressing security in his country.
He had said that their contribution to Niger Republic had helped in checkmating trans-border crimes and terrorism which have helped in securing his country and the neighbouring north western states of Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina, Kaduna, Kebbi and the north central state of Niger.
According to the Nigerien President, Matawale, the Zamfara state governor, continued worry over ’’the inflow of weapons trafficking through his country into Nigeria and the several visits to Niger to share intelligence helped the country security personnel to arrest more than 40 notorious arms and ammunition dealers inside Niger Republic whose destination is Nigeria.
The Nigerien President may have given a clue to the Nigerian security Chiefs that most of the arms used by the Bandits Group operating in the north- west geopolitical region were smuggled into Nigeria from the Mahradi region of Niger Republic.
While the Nigerian government is out to support Niger Republic to tackle its security challenges but that may not have stopped the influx of the armed foreign Bandits into Nigeria. The recent attack on Audu Mdaki, an Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG, in charge of Zone 12 in the Barde area of Kaduna speaks volume. The AIG and one unidentified officer were said to have sustained
bullet wounds but the AIG, Orderly was no lucky. He was said to have been gunned down by the heavily armed Bandits in the attack.
The increased cases of terrorism and Banditry in Nigeria may have encouraged Air Marshall Olayinka Isiaka Amao, Chief of Air Staff, CAS, to give , a matching order to Nigerian Air Force, NAF, Commanders in the various theatres of operations across the country ‘’to show no mercy to the Bandits and terrorists’’. The Air Marshall had urged the Commanders ‘’to deploy maximum fire power against the criminal elements posing as a security threat in the country’’.
Air Marshall Amao , who is determined to crush the criminal elements operating the north- east and north- west geopolitical regions , including the north central state of Niger has underscored ‘’the need for effective allocation and utilization of all NAF, platforms deployed for operations in the north west and the north central state of Niger for enhanced operational effectiveness’.
In a related development, Usman Alkali Baba, Inspector General of Police, IGP, was said to have ordered ‘’massive deployment of additional Force personnel and operational assets within the Abuja metropolis and its environs. The IGP may have taken thebold initiative to flood Abuja, with additional policemen to avoid a repeat of the Kuje Custodial centre and the Presidential Guard which provides security to the President and Abuja, incident.
The move according to informed security sources is ‘’to solidify the security and protection of lives and property at the FCT, critical national assets, and vulnerable facilities as well as road users plying the routes in and around the Seat of power. The Abuja police Command may have gone a step further to raid the unintended forests and abandoned infrastructural facilities within the city centres and surbubs to flush out the criminal elements.
Given the pressure on the Nigerian government both within and outside the country to facilitate the release of the remaining passengers of the Abuja-Kaduna train services still in the custody of the Ansaru terrorists and Bandits Group may have informed why Muazu Sambo, minister of Transportation at the instance of the Nigerian President had stopped the Abuja-Kaduna rail services until all the kidnapped passengers in the Abuja-Kaduna train services during the March 28, 2022, attack were rescued made to reunite with their family members.
Sambo, the minister of Transportation was said to have taken the decision to stop the Abuja-Kaduna train services during an inspection visit ‘’to the Idu and kubwa train stations in Abuja’’. The minister may have gladdened the heart of Nigerians when he revealed that the government had concluded arrangement ‘’to deploy advanced technologies to train services across the country to forestall similar security breaches in the future’’, .
