By Suleiman Umaru
In spite effors being put in place by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who incidentally was a former governor of Lagos and his security Chiefs to bring Terrorism and Banditry under control in Borno, Zamfara, Kaduna, Ktasina and other parts of Nigeria, there are fears in both official and unofficial circles that this may be difficult to achieve.
This is because of the alleged infiltration of the insurgents and bandits into the government bot at the Federal, state and local government levels including Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, where they access information freely and still use it to work against the system.
Only recently, an aggrieved Armayau Bchi, a Professor and Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Dutsinma, in Katsina, home state of former President Muhammadu Buhari, which has become another major hotbed of banditry in north western Nigeria had cried out that some of the University staff members are serving a informants to the Bandits Group fighters who have established camps in different parts of the state.
The University Vice Chancellor who could not hide his feelings had said that the suspected staff members freely give out information to the bandits ‘’to come and attack both the staff and the students, which may have informed why at different times some female students at different times have been kidnapped and ransom demanded from the school Authorities, government and families to facilitate their release.
Penultimate week, one Tiri Gyan David, a Lecturer in the University and Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development was said to have been killed while two of his children were abducted by the killer gang.
He was emphatic that the bandits have been attacking, kidnapping and killing not only the residents of Dutsinma Community but the staff of the University to scare the people, forcing them to live in perpetual fear. The University who is determined to crush the bandits network in the citadel of learning who had cried out when he appeared on Channels Television recently had said that the contacts of the suspected staff members had already been given to one of the security agencies in the state , which identity remained a closely guided secret for further investigation but’’ action has not been taken’’.
This may have fueled the speculations making the rounds in the some that some of the security agencies are working with the bandits for their own pecuniary gains.
Funny enough, Abubakar Sadiq, an Assistant Superintendent of Police and spokesperson of Katsina state Police Command was said to have appealed to residents of the Dutsinna Community, described as one of the frontline Local government Areas in the state to assist the Command with relevant information on the activities of the bandits and their Collaborators to end the their menacing activities in the state.
The Katsina state Police Command spokesperson who would not take it from the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University Dutsinma that the University Authorities have always provided relevant information to the security agencies to help them in doing their job was said to have challenged him to name the particular agency instead of making the wide allegations.
Hear him: We don’t have information on the Federal University of Dutsinma issue and we don’t know exactly which particular security agency the University claimed to have contacted.
Note that the outcry of the Federal University of Dutsima, Vice Chancellor, may not different from what former President Goodluck Jonathan had said why he was still in government.
TheBayelsa state born former Nigerian President had stated without mincing words at the National Ecumenical Centre in Abuja, the Federal Capaital Territory, FCT, as part of the Armed Forces Rememberance Day Celebrations that ‘’members of the extremist Islamic Fundamentalist Group, Boko Haram , have succeeded in infiltrating his government , planting its members in government agencies and security outfits’’.
Recall that Obadiah Malaifia, a former Deputy Director of the Central Bank, CBN, may have shocked Nigerians when he stated that many of the Bandits Group terrorizing the north western states o Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto and some parts of Kebbi , including Niger, home state of Nigeria’s first military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, rtd , and General Abdusalami Abubakar, rtd, another Nigerian military Head of State were sponsored by those who had wanted to push out Jonathan out of powe a all cost and they had their way.
The trend may not have changed as the bandits attack , on Communities , particular, in Katsina state have been intensified in the recent time compare what the situation used to be in the past when the attack was more concentrated in Kaduna and Zamfara states.
The recent attack on the Runka Community in the Buhari home state who had emerged from the dreaded Rugu Forest, believed to harboring the criminals dressed in Hijab speaks volume. The Killer gang were said to have kidnapped 26 persons, mostly women and children in the Runka Community of the Sfana Local government Area of the north western state and disappeared into the forest with little or resistance, as there were no trace of the soldiers or Force personnel to stop them.
The bandits may have succeeded in the attack based on information making the rounds making the rounds as a result as a result of the activities of the bandits informants who are scattered all over the Community and its environs, for their own pecuniary gains.
Given the intractable security challenges across the country may have informed why Olabode George, a retired Nigerian Air Force Commodore and former Chairman of Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, during former President Olusegun Obasanjo and a Chieftain of the Opposition Pople’s Democratic Party, PDP, to have said that Nigeria needed to implement state police state Policy urgently to put the situation under control.
The former NPA Chairman, who may not have seen anything good in the Tinubu’s Administration over the last obe year, was said to have stated clearly that ‘’the introduction of state police would reduce considerably the spike in terrorism and banditry in the north eastern, north western and south eastern states of the Federation. He may not be a good friend of President Tinubu, but he has sounded it loud and clear that ‘’the need to have state police cannot be futuristic’’, insisting that ‘’it has become so urgent to do so by the incumbent Tinubu’s government without further delay.
Describing terrorism and banditry as insecurity within, because you don’t know ‘’who is who’’ as the terrorists or bandit fighters can come out in the day and pretend to be part of the Community but at night turn to something else and therefore the need for the state Police’’ to effectively police them.
’’The PDP Chieftain noted that what the government need are people within the Community to police the terrorists and bandits. He has his reason. ‘’they know themselves .They know the dos and don’ts of their culture and they know the rules of the people in that culture’’.The Lagos state born politician was emphatic that with state police, the people would be off ‘’to be able to manage any issue within their Communities’’. Whether the Nigerian President would go along with the idea of the state police remain to be seen.
