The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Zamfara bandits

  • Our nightmare: Niger communities under siege from Zamfara bandits cry out

    For the people of Munya Local Government Area of Niger State, peace is a scarce commodity, as they now live in fear of attacks from gunmen, who are yet to be identified.

    They have been under siege from heavily armed hoodlums, who unleash terror on them at will. The siege is already taking a heavy toll on their psyche.

    The boundary they share with  Kaduna and Zamfara states  is the source of their problem; the thick forest in between is gradually becoming a nightmare to them as these bandits many times commit crimes in these states and run into the forest or the local government area to seek refuge.

    Some weeks ago, the bandits kidnapped two women in Kaduna area of the border villages, demanding for N10 million ransom from the relations of the kidnap victims.  The husband of one of the women, the suspected kidnappers alleged, was a police informant. A man and his wife were recently shot on their way to Munya town, while the hoodlums had also stolen  1, 300 cattle within the last couple of months.

    These criminal elements, who are said to be among bandits dislodged from Zamfara and Kaduna states, are said to be perpetrating robberies,  kidnappings, cattle rustling and other heinous crimes in the area. They operate with sophisticated weapons such as pump action guns, AK 47 rifles, rocket launchers, machine guns, among others.

    Read also: …Yari’s plea for emergency rule in Zamfara commendable —Sen Marafa

    When our correspondent went to see the vigilante team regarding the security situation in the council, there was palpable fear and tension in the air as another attack was said to be looming; even the driver who took the correspondent, said the attackers can come at any moment; he was in a hurry to go back.

    According to some of the residents in one of the communities, the gunmen usually launch attacks at least once every fortnight, during which they rob and kidnap some of their victims. The situation, they lamented, had become unbearable to them.

    The head of the vigilante team, Saleh Mohammed, said his team and other security agents had been on standby for some days as they noticed some suspicious movements in the forest and they were not willing to take chances.

    “We have noticed some of these bandits in Chuku local government area and we are now on surveillance to see if they will advance or not. Our communities are under threat of attacks. These gunmen have vowed to eradicate our communities.

  • Buhari orders crack forces, fighter aircraft to battle Zamfara bandits

    The Federal Government has assembled 1000-strong military force, comprising the Army, Air Force, Police and the Civil Defence to attack bandits terrorising Zamfara State.

    Following the presidential directive, the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) has begun deploying fighter aircrafts in Katsina Airport for immediate and effective response to the menace.

    A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said the President had authorised NAF to engage advanced satellite surveillance technology to help in accurate detection of movement and locations of the bandits.

    The statement reads:  “The government had to go to this extent because of the limitations of conventional surveillance, as the use of satellite technology could make the task of NAF less problematic.

    “Following directives from the President, at the weekend, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Sadiq Abubakar, was in Gusau where he met with the Deputy Governor.”

    The Chief of Air Staff reiterated the President’s pledge that he would never abandon victims of attacks to their fate, reaffirming that security remains one of the cardinal pillars of his campaign promises, and no leader would be happy to see his own citizens killed by criminal groups across.

    “The Presidency, therefore, appeals to Nigerians to unite and speak with one voice on security issues, and urges politicians to stop exploiting national security challenges.

    “Those praying for the President to fail in this effort can be likened to one stabbing oneself in the heart and celebrating it.

    “Therefore, security should not be reduced to petty politics as doing so could only embolden the terrorists and other murderous gangs.

    “He, therefore, appealed to the media to avoid unhelpful and deleterious sensationalism in the coverage of events that border on national security.

    ‘The media should under no circumstance make the bandits or terrorists feel like super stars because doing so could hurt all of us.

    “Terrorists seek to achieve maximum publicity and they do so by launching large scale attacks on soft targets and the media must resist every attempt to play into their hands unwittingly.”