Nigerians and the rest of the world were taken aback when a video of thousands of bandits celebrating Sallah in Zamfara State surfaced on social media.
The development, many say, is a slap on Nigeria’s security architecture.
The video, which was disclosed by a counter insurgency analysts and security expert focused on Lake Chad region, Zaga Zula Mahama, on Thursday, April 18, has been generating reactions from Nigerians.
The bandits in their thousands were shown partaking in the Sallah festivities.
Nigerians have paid heavily in various forms, following the activities of the bandits, particularly in the North West and North Central, where they have made life a living hell for the people.
Nigerians in their hundreds of thousands have been kidnapped in the past by the bandits and ransom running into millions paid to secure their release.
Many who could not afford the outrageous ransom which they demand from most often have been brutally killed.
Many others have died out of torture in their hands or as a result of inclement weather in the forests and thick bushes where the bandits had always kept them.
In some states, like Katsina, Zamfara and Niger, some local government areas are comfortably under the control of the bandits, where they levy and collect taxes from the people without fear of any consequences.
Although the military kept assuring Nigerians that they were on top of the situation, the bandits appear unperturbed as they keep dishing pain, sorrow and death on a monthly basis.
The situation had become so disturbing that many people now question the authenticity of the information the military has been feeding Nigerians with, as it affects the counter insurgency war.
Nigerians have been told several times that scores of the bandits have been neutralised at different times in different locations and states including Zamfara, which is regarded as their headquarters. But, with the number seen on the video, many are asking if the information that the military has been feeding Nigerians with is anything to go by.
Some people are also saying that what the bandits wanted to prove with the viral video was simply to show that they have the backing of some powerful individuals in the society.
One of those who are sceptical about the information from the military authorities regarding their onslaught on the bandits is the president of the Middle Belt Forum, MBF, Dr. Pogu Bitrus.
He wondered why there are still thousands of the bandits out there despite assurances from the military that they are being dealt with.
Commenting on the viral video, Bitrus said the bandits wanted to showcase their religion.
He told DAILY POST that, “The bandits just want to show that they are Muslims, whether or not we accept is immaterial.
“It also shows that up till now, no matter what we have been told that the military have done with regard to decimating them, there are still a lot of them out there who can cause havoc in this country.”
He accused some people of paying lip service to the unity of the country, because according to him, if they wanted the country to be one as they would want people to believe, they would not be supporting the activities of the bandits.
He stressed that the only way to solve the problem of banditry in Nigeria was to restructure the country so that each state or geo-political region would be able to provide adequate security for her people.
“Sentiments apart, we are people who believe in one Nigeria. But the reality is that there are people who don’t believe in one Nigeria.
“If they do, they will not do what they are doing. We need to do what is necessary and we said we want this country to be restructured and that is the way forward,” he stated.
Also, the coordinator of the Arewa Youths Consultative Forum, AYCF, Alhaji Yerima Shettima described the bandits’ courage to appear publicly in such a large number as a clear indication that the government of the day has to do more.
“It is also an indication that the bandits have taken the country for granted, otherwise if the government is willing and determined, it couldn’t have said that it didn’t have information about the Sallah programme that bandits attended, or when they were about to hold the programme.
“This is because it was not a programme that the bandits held for one or two hours, it was a programme that took them several hours to execute.
“So, the government must buckle up because the implication is that it is an abuse of the sensibilities of the country as a whole, and it has also gone further to make a mockery of the country’s security forces.
“The government must buckle up and handle the matter once and for all,” he said.
On the number of bandits that have so far been neutralised over time, Yerima insisted that nobody could dispute the information, stressing that why it appears as the information was not true was because the bandits recruit people into their fold on a daily basis.
“They engage and employ people who are jobless by the day. So, the issue of saying that the information is not true should not even arise because the military is really trying, but just that they need to do more.
“Only God knows what would have happened if not for the military’s effort.
“They are trying but they should put more effort and clean the mess once and for all,” he submitted.
For a former member of the Katsina State House of Assembly, Alhaji Shehu Yusuf, banditry had become a big problem in the country, particularly in the North.
He said he aligned with the Kaduna State governor who recently said that everybody was involved in banditry.
“Starting from the community members that provide information to the traditional rulers, the security agents and the government, everybody is involved because looking at the way they operate, they must have the support of some people in the community who give them reliable information that enables them to attack people at random and disappear without a trace.
“I believe that there are people who are supporting them because for the bandits to come inside the town to a prayer ground which is a public place in such a large number, with arms and finish whatever they were doing and left unhindered is unbelievable.
“It is confusing and there must be people supporting them and providing them with useful information,” he told DAILY POST.
Insisting that almost everybody was involved in the menace, he said: “Remember that victims that had the opportunity to speak to the media usually tell us that they know the bandits and where they are hiding, especially in Zamfara State and in all communities that are being attacked by bandits.
“The people in such communities know the bandits personally and their hideouts.
“They go to the market and buy whatever they want, and anytime they like they can strike the communities, kill people and carry their belongings. That is exactly what is happening.
“These people are Nigerians. They live among the people in the community and the people know them and their hideouts.
“So, it is confusing and one cannot understand why they are doing what they are doing and the government has not been able to deal with them decisively.”
He advised the government to go all out not only against the bandits but also against their friends, sympathisers, informants and sponsors, and deal with them ruthlessly, according to the law of the land.
He also noted that they were able to display what they did in Zamfara without a whimper from the security agents because they have powerful individuals in the society who always come for them each time they are arrested.
“Normally, when the security agents arrest these bandits and take them to custody, except they are killed on the spot, they will always find their way out, either from the court, police cell, military cell or wherever they are being kept, and after some time, you see them back in the society.
“There is no legal action against them and this is what is happening. So, their supporters have a way of getting them out whenever they are arrested,” he lamented.
However, he expressed fear that the situation was getting to a point where the people would take the law into their own hands.
“If the communities are fed up, they will fight back. There was a case recently in a community in Zamfara State, where bandits wanted to abduct a bride, but were repelled by the groom’s relatives, who organised, attacked them, killed one of them and took their guns.
“They killed one of the bandits and others ran away; the groom’s relatives collected their guns and returned them to the nearest military checkpoint along Gusau Road.
“So, it is gradually getting to that point where people will begin to react, without waiting for any security agent,” he stated.
“Where is the technology of our military? Where is the technology of our security agents? Why can’t they use common drones to locate these bandits and act decisively on them?
“You will see the bandits exposing their machine guns, and living in the bush; meaning that in less than 10 minutes, the government can locate where they are, but nothing is being done about their activities.
“When the police or the military get a distress call that something is happening at a particular area, before they get permission from the above, the bandits have finished with their operation and disappeared.
“Anytime you report at the police or military checkpoint that something is happening at a particular place, they will tell you that they need to get permission from the top and before the top allows them to act, things would have gone wrong. This is what is happening.
“The painful aspect of the whole thing is that young military officers are always being killed.
“Look at what happened in Niger State recently, where six military officers, including a Captain, were killed. The government should take decisive action on this matter.
“Our military men are always being killed; the police and the DSS personnel, including the community people are being killed every day like animals. This is not good.
“The appearance of those bandits simply means that the people know them and their hideout, so it is time the government acted and stopped giving lame excuses about their invincibility,” he submitted.