By Suleiman Umaru
Between 2021 and now, Bello Matawalle, governor of Zamfra state in the north west geopolitical region had beamed his search on the Emirs and district heads in the Emirate Councils to fish out those allegedly hobnobbing with the Bandits for their own pecuniary gains.
He had started with the removal of Abubakar Chika, the Emir of Maru, described as one of the flash point areas of the state. The Bandits Group, according to President Mohammed Bazoun, of Niger Republic which had entered his home country from Maawa amd Bayan Dtisi regions had escalated toZamfara , Sokoto, Katsina, Kadunna and Niger, home state of Ibrahim Babanngida, a retired Army General and former Nigerian military President through the region of Mahradi.
The Cieftaincy title was said to have been conferred on the on the Bandits gang leader without the approval of tMatawalle, the state governor. The worry of many was that scores of the Bandits said to had arrived the venue of the occasion at Yandoto town on several motorbikes to celebrate with Aleru during his turbaning. Security operatives were said to have sited many of them at the venue because of their daring moves but there was no much they could do to avoid disrupting the event as planned. They were said to have left the venue the same way they had come into their forest hideout no sooner than he Bandits kingpin was turbaned.
Lawali Magaji, the spokesperson of the Yandoto Emirate had said that the decision ‘’to make the Bandits Leader a Chief was aimed at ‘’finding peace in tsafe, Yandoton Daji Emirates and other Areas that were regularly attacked by Aleru led gang’’
He noted that the efforts of the ex-bandit Leader have been able to bring about peace in the Emirate had made it possible for the people to go to their farms without fear of bandits attack.Hear him: He has been trying to atop banditry within he Yandoto Emirate Council and all and sundry can attest to the positive changes. Giving an insider information on why Yandoto Emirate confere the tile on the ex-bandit was because he believes that ‘’it would enable him to control entire Fulani, who are from both within and outside the country and checkmate their activities and action against the people of the Emirate Council.
The Yandoto Emir may have made Nigerians to believe that he got the approval of the state government before going ahead to turban the popular terror kingpin who was said to have repeatedly terrorized farmers and the several communities in Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Sokoto states including Niger sate over the last 11 years.
The Aleru gang, according to residents of Daji Yandoton Emirate have led series of atattacks, kill people and kinap for ransom in the Emirate Council.
There is no gain saying the fact that in spite of measures introduced by the Zamfara s state government in the recent time to curtail the activities of the Bandits , which President Muhammadu Bahari , had said also include trans- border insurgency , the Aleru gang were said to have continued to strike in the state.
It was not surprising why Matawalle, the Zamfara state governor, had found the action of the Yandoto Emir Emir as very embarrassing to the state and the Federal government of Nigeria. Tis may have forced him resort to plan B, to deal with the Emir for hobnobbing with the bandits Leader which had reslted I turbaning him for his pecuniary gains.
The governor had handed down an indefinite suspension Letter him , thus bringing to wo , the number of Emirs that had earned the wrath of the state government for associating with bandits to the extent of turbaning one of them to serve in his Emirate Council, fueling speculations making the rounds that some of the northern Emirs are actually supporting the Bandits.
Aware of the implications of the Yandoto’s Emir’s action, may have informed why the Zamfara state governor is determined to get to the root of the matter that he has set a six-man Committee headed by one Yahaya Chado Gora, a member of the House of Representatives to investigate the circumstances leading to the Yandoto Emir action.
Perhaps, to fill the vacuum, created by the suspension of the Emir, the governor was said to have appointed one Mahe Garba Marafa, the district head of Yandoto to take charge of the Affairs of the Emirate for now until a successor would be appointed . The suspension of the Yandoto Emir, may have sent a message to other Emirs and district heads in the state patronizing the bandits that they should watch their step as they are closely being monitored by security personnel and the state government.
Given the embarrassment which the turbaning of a Bandits gang kingpin by the suspended Emir of Yantaoto has caused Zamfara state over the last one week may have informed why Matawalle, the state governor had warned the Emirs against ‘’the indiscriminate bestowing of Chieftaincy titles on individuals, which he had described as abuse of the traditional institution’’ .
An aggrieved Zamfara state governor has made it clear to those that cares to listen that ‘’henceforth any Emir or district head found giving Chieftaincy title to any person without securing official permission and clearance from the state government’’ would be dealt with according to the LawWithout sounding immodest he has made clear that ‘’compliance is mandatory now and failure to it will attract serious reprimand from the state government.
Worried by the renewed attacks by Bandits in recent times in parts of Kaduna and some other states of the Federation where Clergymen, particular, Catholic priests have been their major targets, aimed’’ creating chaos and disorder in the country, the Katksina tate born Nigerian President and Commander –In-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces has vowed that his Administration will use all the available resources to ‘’crush these enemies of humanity’’.
The Nigerian President was said to have made it clear made it to the security Chiefs that he will not give them a breather ‘unless and until the country find a very effective solution to this disturbing security situation’’.
As a prelude to giving a final death blow on the Bandits operating in the north west region the north central state sate of Niger including the north east states Borno and Yobe , based Islamic Fundamentalist Group, BokoHaram, and the Islamic State of West African Province, ISWAP, ISWAP , the National Security Council , NSC, appears to have come close to crippling the terrorists as ‘’it is considering a nationwide ban on motorbikes and mining activities across the country which analysts said would heck all the loopholes being exploited by the criminal elements to launch attack on communities and cut off their source of funding’’.
Abubakar Malami, minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation had told those that cares to listen that ‘’investigations are still ongoing to establish the correlation between motorbikes and mining activities in Zamfara, particular, which many suspect ‘’provide funding for the supply of arms to the terrorists’’.The minister had said that the ban on the use of motorbikes across the country has become imperative in order ‘’to guarantee the nation’s security.
Rauf Aregbesola, a former governor of Osun state and now minister of Interior may have gladdened of Nigerians when he revealed that Buhari had received a report on the preliminary Investigations on the Kuje Custodial Centre attack by alleged ISWAP fighters and opened the cells for 69 BokoHaram and other prisoners to escape unhurt.
Aregbesola who could not hide his feelings had said that ‘’the attack on the Kuje prison, located in the outskirts of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, succeeded due to the fact that ‘there was no will to act’’. He may have alluded to the security operatives.
Abba Kyari, a suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police in detention in the Kuje prison over alleged complicity in money laundering and allegation of offering $61,000 bribeat the Murtala Muhammed International Airpot to Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agents , NDLEA, officials to allow a cient’s Narcotics exit the airport had said that he could have escaped with other members of the Police Intelligence Response Team, in the Kuje prison because’’ the terrorists had ‘’opened all the gates and forced all inmates to escape but they declined to flee’’.
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