Growing panic as political order collapses in Nigeria
Yesterday, I saw a video clip of the Emir of Muri giving Fulani bandits a 30-day ultimatum to stop killing his people, banditry and kidnapping in his emirate. If they do not stop, he threatened, he will order his people to start killing all Fulani on sight. This is another sign that the security forces are outside the equation. An audio clip has been circulating of a bandit leader called Turji who openly proclaimed that he is indeed a bandit who has killed soldiers on three occasions and his location is known to the security agencies. Rather than come to arrest him for his crimes, the police arrested a soft target, his father, because they are afraid of him. He then threatened the security agencies that he would continue to kidnap more people until his father was released. He kidnapped about 150 people in Shinkafi Local Government Area, his father was released and he released the captives (See reports by Abdulaziz Abdulaziz in Daily Trust of 17th and 18th July). So, who is in charge in this country?
Today, the fear is that even remote fighting from the air is under threat. Last week, an Air Force jet was sent to bomb bandits in Zamfara State. The bandits, turned terrorists, shot the plane down but thank God the pilot was able to eject and find his way to safety. The problem is that the Air Force has become a major line of attack against bandits and terrorists because their strength is becoming overwhelming for our ground forces. If they can shoot down our jet fighters then the situation is really serious.
Yesterday, Daily Trust carried a comprehensive report on insecurity in the country written by Fidelis Mac-Leva and Idowu Isamotu. It showed that Zamfara, Kebbi and Niger states topped the chart as 1,031 people were killed in June 2021 alone, across the country. A total of 275 persons were killed in Zamfara State, while Kebbi and Niger states lost 93 and 91 persons respectively during the month. They drew attention to a report by an Abuja-based security risk management and intelligence consulting company, Beacon Consulting, which said 390 others were abducted in 205 incidences recorded in 34 states of the country, within the same period. Incidences of fatality and kidnapping were recorded in 127 LGAs across 34 states of the federation with the exception of Bauchi and Gombe. Most of the cases were recorded in areas bedevilled by rural banditry. As for Boko Haram and related groups, they killed nine persons and abducted 20 others in four attacks recorded in the month indicating they are now becoming the small players. In the same period, attacks attributed to unknown gunmen, Eastern Security Network and the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) led to the killings of 18 persons in 12 attacks.
The breakdown by the Daily Trust reports shows that the North West recorded the highest cases with 416 fatalities and 280 abductions in 28 LGAs, followed by the North Central which recorded 218 fatalities and 24 abductions in 27 LGAs. The