- 10,000 displaced, hundreds killed in recent weeks
- Youths mobilise to challenge rising threats, say enough is enough
Residents in various communities in Niger State are presently on edge as a result of incessant invasion of their communities by bandits, kidnappers and other militias.
The invaders readily kill, kidnap and destroy homes in a manner that suggests they are on a dastardly mission to wipe out the entire population of these communities.
In the past, these hoodlums operated in isolated communities where there was little or no security presence. But they have now come out in full force to ruthlessly attack without fear any community not minding whether there is any security personnel or not. As a result of this, natives of Gwada, Kuta, Galkogo, Zumba, Gurumana, Erena, Bassa and Allawa communities of the state have come under several onslaughts from the daredevils in recent months.
In the process, hundreds of men, women and children were slaughtered like animals by the hoodlums while kidnappers collected hundreds of millions of naira as ransom from those they spared their lives and property. At the same time, no fewer than 10,000 members of different communities in the state have been displaced.
Worried by the atrocities of the bandits, Governor Abubakar Sani Bello had raised the alarm that seven of the 25 local government areas of the state had been constantly overrun by bandits and other daredevils in recent weeks and called for a concrete effort to deal with the threat posed by the criminal elements.
The governor’s comment followed the killing of three soldiers and eight residents as well as the burning down of many house following the invasion of villages by bandits in Mariga Local Government Area of the state. The soldiers and four local vigilantes were said to have been ambushed and killed at Kwanan Dutse as they were patrolling the area as part of their operations to secure the area.
The attack was the second within the last two weeks, forcing natives of Ishau, Ishau, Kuna, Amale, Adunu, Kudami and Beni communities to flee their homes due to incessant attacks from gunmen. As if that was not enough, three policemen were also killed and several others injured in a similar circumstance three weeks ago, while a 20-year-old man was also shot while returning to his village in Adunu on his motorcycle.
Only last week, the bandits descended on Galadima Kogo during which some security men and some villagers were killed. This development has since pitched the state government and youth from the area on a collision course. The youths have called on the state and the Federal Government to take a firm decision to deal with the worsening insecurity in the state before it gets out of control.
The Concerned Shiroro Youths of Niger State called for increased presence of soldiers and policemen, especially in areas most threatened by insecurity. A statement signed by Co-conveners of Concerned Shiroro Youths, Sani Abubakar Kokki and Bello Ibrahim, read: “Enough is enough as we can no longer fold our arms watching while our lives are being wasted senselessly by criminal elements.”
Meanwhile, Senator Mohammed Sani Musa, representing Niger East of which communities are being ravaged by the bandits, has renewed his appeal to the Federal Government to establish a permanent security base in all the affected areas being terrorised by the bandits just as he called on the military to evolve a new strategy in combating insecurity in Niger State and other parts of the country.
Arewa Voice learned that many of the farmers in some communities have been forced by bandits to pay “tax” before being allowed to harvest their farms. Once the embattled farmers pay ransom to one gang of militias, others emerge to demand their share of ransom as a condition for the farmers to stay and farm in their communities, a strange development that is unsettling the natives of Niger State.
One of the consequences of the incessant attacks on farmers and their communities is the scarcity of staple food and the sharp rise in prices, with attendant threat to food security, health and nutrition of the people who depend on farm produce for survival. One of the displaced farmers from Zumba Community, Abubakar Erena, who spoke with our correspondent, said he had to flee his home as a result of the constant raids by bandits on them.
“I have no plans to go back to Zumba because we are not safe. I have lost two of my wives killed by bandits; lost two children and my entire farm produce because they were burnt down by the bandits. My life and the lives of my only remaining wife and six other children are more precious than our continuous living there. As I speak with you, many villagers have also fled the area and we are all farmers,” he lamented.
The enrolment of pupils in school has also dropped drastically due to the withdrawal of children from schools as a result of abduction of pupils and other students in some schools by the bandits who see Western education as an abomination. Just few days ago, the state Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, lamented that his state has the highest number of out-of-school children in the North Central geopolitical zone due to insecurity in the state.
Vanguard
