Again, residents of areas in the North where bandits are virulent have been enjoined to adopt self-defence as their first line remedy. Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda is the latest proponent of that doctrine.
The self-defence doctrine is not new and has been espoused in diverse shades. Defence Minister Bashir Magashi under the former Muhammadu Buhari administration said it wasn’t the responsibility of the military alone to secure citizens, but that every individual should be alert and ensure their own security whenever necessary. He considered it cowardly when people in communities flee for safety anytime bandits storm in with weapons, saying in his younger days people stood their ground to fight aggression. Others have espoused different versions of same doctrine. Radda’s predecessor in Katsina, Alhaji Aminu Masari, once said it was against Islamic tenets to give in to aggressors like bandits without a fight. Current Defence Minister of State Bello Matawalle, when he was Zamfara State Governor, called on resident to acquire weapons to fight bandits saying he had mandated the police to license such weapons.
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Now, Governor Radda is making a similar case. He recently disclosed an initiative by his administration whereby communities ready to self-defend against bandits would be given necessary support and formal training on how to engage the criminals before the arrival of security agents. Radda’s logic is that some communities are so far off that it would take hours for security operatives to arrive in response to distress calls over bandit attacks. Speaking at a townhall meeting in Daura, the governor said inter alia: “I went to a village where it took me two hours inside a jeep before I reached (there) from the main road. So, if bandits attack such areas, from the time you inform the security, it will take them over two hours before they can respond to the distress call. By then, whatever is going to happen will have happened. They will have killed people and kidnapped others.” He added: “I have said several times that the security agents cannot do this work alone. We don’t even have enough of them. I am surprised at the way we are dying in such a humiliating manner. We were told that anyone who died in defence of his family would enter paradise. You see five criminals attacking a community of 2,000 to 3,000, rape daughters, women and abducting others without any confrontation from the people of that community. If there are 100 youths in the community who confront them, they will not shoot more than three times before being captured with bare hands”
Anyone familiar with the massive land mass of the North will appreciate the point Radda was making. It makes a lot of sense. But security agencies also need to situate outposts closer to remote communities and not leave the people to their own mettle whenever bandits strike.
