Bandits: Buhari , Read The Riot Acts To Service Chiefs As He Takes The Oaths Of Office

Suleiman Umaru

Worried that  Bandits who  are  attacking Katsina  and states in the south west geo-political region, are  getting their arms through unapproved routes , in the region, President Muhammadu Buhari, has  read the riot act  to the Service Chiefs  and Abubakar Adamu, Inspector General of ,IGP, to block all the illegal routes  at the nation’s border areas used by smugglers in the north to stop the inflow  of illegal arms into  the country.

At a closed door with the service Chiefs and Adamu, the IGP,  at the Presidential villa,  Buhari, who could not hide his feelings,  was said to have unbarred  his mind to them  that the ”spate of  kidnapping, armed Banditry and armed robbery  have been on the increase  in different parts of the country. He has every reason to rally the support of the service Chiefs and  the Police IGP,  because of what is happening in  Katsina, his home, where the Bandits have succeeded in making  ungovernable  for Bello Massari, the state  governor, in the last couple of months.

 The Bandits  had penetrated  Daura, the President’s home town and Emirate Council, and kidnapped Musa Daura, a  former Comptroller of Federal Operations Unit, FOU, Zone A, Ikeja, the second in Command to the hierachy of Authority in Duara Emirate Council.  The whereabouts of the Daura district Head is still unknown, as the kidnappers , have refused to get in touch with the family, to make their demand to facilitate his release.

More worrisome was the consistent attacks in Dan Ali and Batsari, local government areas of the state in which several people had lost their lives and scores kidnapped. The Bandits may have found their way to the north western states, particular , Katsina  state, to embrass, the President, who no longer find the situation funny.

 Note that the President had repeatedly  blamed  the current economic  and security Challenges in the country  on decades  of neglect and mismanagement  of resources by past Administrations, particular, the erstwhile Administration of former President Goodluck of then  Ruling People’s Democratic Party, PDP. 

An aggrieved  Buhari,  who is carrying the security burden of the country on his shoulders,  believes that ”if the assets  and resources available    had been  properly managed  in in years past,   Nigeria would have been a prosperous nation as there would be no need to  Insurgency in north east or Banditry in the north west. 

Katsina  and other states in the region share boundary with Republic of Nigeria.  Indeed, in most of the local government areas  in Katsina and other states in the region, including Sokoto,  it is very difficult to distinguish between a Nigerian Community and Nigerien Community, which makes it easy for illegal arms to be smuggled into the country. Being a Land locked country, the country import most of it transit cargoes from the Republic of Benin, which cannot be opened on the road by the Nigerian Customs personnel, going by the World Customs Organisation law governing transit cargoes.

Security experts  believe that most of the illegal arms  used the armed bandits  may have been imported by their sponsors  as transit cargoes through Republic  of Benin   and the Nigerian ports. Note that some years back a ”20” foot Containers of arms was intercepted  at  Apapa port by the Customs and handed over to the Department of State Security, DSS, but that was how far the matter could go.

This is why the security Chiefs and the IGP, must take the advice of the Katsina born Nigerian President  serious  to mobilise their  officers to complement the efforts of Hameed Ali, a  retired Army Colonel and Comptroller General, Nigerian Customs  Service, to effectively block the  illegal Border routes in the country.

The service Chiefs , in particular, may have known, that any mistake on their part, with all the support they are getting from the President to  convince him that they  would solve the insecurity problem in the country, their days are  numbered as the Katsina born Nigerian begins his second term in office.    The tone of   Ibok-  Ete Ibas, a Vice Admiral and Chief of Naval, when he spoke  with State House Correspondents , after the Closed door meeting with the President  at the villa speaks volume. The service Chiefs, who were agitated , going by their  looks on Channels  Television,    were said to have   briefed  the President on their efforts   at responding  better to  the  insurgency in the north east and Banditry attacks in the north western states of Zamfara, Katsina and Sokoto state, the home of the Caliphate.

The  news making the round that Nigeria  is not a safe  country to visit now may have influenced  most of the invited invited Presidents ,  Particular in the African Continent from showing up  at the President’s swearing in, for the start of his second term in office by  Mohammed Tanko, the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria.

Many believe  that legal legal batle between him  Atiku Abubakar, the Presidential Candidate of the  , PDP,  over his declaration as the  winner of the 2019 , Presidential  election, and the report of the International Observers from the US and Commonwealth countries,  on the  February 23, 2019, Presidential election , in Nigeria, did not help matters.

Eyewitness, account  disclosed that it  was  the worst swearing in  of an elected President , since  the return of Democracy in the country  May 29, 2019.  There were no  political leaders from other parts of the world including the African Continent.   The Ceremony was said to have only been witnessed  by members  of the first families  including Aisha, Buhari, the first Lady  and Dolapo Osibanjo, the wife of the Vice President  including  diplomats, top government officials and politicians  including some undisclosed prominent Nigerians.

Lai Mohammed , the outgoing minister of Information and Culture , may create the impression  that the President had planned a low key swaring  in ceremony  and therefore, did not extend  invitation to too many foreign dignitaries which is fund consuming.

Many believe that if the President  was not sure of getting some   other African  and other foreign Presidents from  attending his inauguration ceremony why was he much bothered about the security  arrangements    put on ground by the security Chiefs, particular, Adamu, the IGP.