Col Ahmed Usman (retd), is the Special Adviser to the governor of Sokoto State on security matters, He speaks on amnesty for repentant bandits and war against banditry, among others, with OLAKUNLE MARUF.

Why is it that the fight against banditry lingers despite consistent measures put in place by successive governments?

One of the biggest global security issues that is threatening global peace is the proliferation of illegal small arms and light weapons (SALW). This poses a greater challenge to sub-Saharan countries, Nigeria inclusive, because it gives non-state actors, especially terrorists and bandits, the impetus to continue unleashing terror on our respective communities because they have unfettered access to arms.

According to the United Nations, no less than one billion small and light arms are in use worldwide which continue to pose a serious threat to people all over the world. It was also estimated that from 2010 to 2014, these weapons had caused almost 200,000 deaths annually from terrorism acts, inter-state conflicts and banditry, among others criminal activities.

In our own case, there is issue of porous border. Most of the bandits terrorising our communities have a links to foreign armed groups. Our border is so porous to the extent that our border security cannot control influx of fire arms and foreign terrorists.

Are you saying that with our porous border, we cannot address banditry?

No, what I mean is that we need to effectively and sufficiently control our border to complement our efforts in fighting banditry.

How can we do that?

There is the need for government at all levels to work together and secure inter-state boundaries and our international borders through effective patrol and surveillance. We need to acquire and deploy modern technological devices at our border, like day and night camera systems, unmanned aerial systems and unattended ground sensors to support physical structures. Scanners, fingerprinting devices, among other devices, should be mounted on our borders to be able to detect weapons and suspicious movement along these borders. These technologies can also provide situational awareness at flash points and border locations.

Remember, improving security requires developing a comprehensive border patrol and surveillance system as those people with evil intentions towards our country would continue to develop variety of strategies to escape authorities and gain illegal access.

Additionally, security operatives at our border posts must work in synergy. They must shun inter-agency rivalry because they are all working for a common goal which is to protect and guard our borders and boundaries. And, most importantly, there is the need for building resilience of border communities and engage them in border management and control because smugglers are using their places for their nefarious activities. In the same vein, improved welfare and working conditions of law enforcement agencies would motivate them to give their best to the country. And lastly, there should be training and retraining of border operatives to be able to detect, identify and response to trans-border security threats and assess risks through intelligence, among others.

Some people believe that kinetic approach alone would not solve our security problems. What is your take on this?

They are quite right, because there is no war ever won by guns alone. Most of the wars you are hearing about ended up at the negotiating table. This is why even the Nigerian government is applying both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches in the fight against insurgents in the North-East, bandits In the North-East and separatists in the South-East. That Is why we always recommend amnesty programmes for those who voluntarily renounce insurgency or banditry and surrender their arms.

Do you think traditional rulers have a role to play in stemming the tide of insecurity in the country?

Yes, of course. They have a greater role to play. Before, our traditional rulers were empowered to deal with the matters in their immediate environment. They have court where minor issues, including herder-farmer conflicts, were being resolved. At that time, any stranger that visited that area must present himself to the leader of that community who would interrogate him to know his mission in their area. All these are now things of the past. That is why some people have been advocating a constitutional role for our traditional rulers because of the important of traditional institution in peace building and societal development.

Religious and communities leaders should be involved in peace building and maintenance in our respective areas. And this is what we have been doing in Sokoto. We meet with traditional, community leaders and other people that matter in our security meetings. In fact, Governor Ahmed Aliyu had inaugurated a powerful committee on security, comprising security operatives, traditional rulers and even religious leaders which meets regularly under the chairmanship of Deputy Governor Idris Mohammed Gobir.

Sokoto is one of the states experiencing insecurity; how is this impacting on the lives of the people of the state?

This is a good question, because people out there may not know the impact of insecurity on our social and economic life. In the recent past, Sokoto East Senatorial district and some local government areas in the northern and southern districts of the state have been witnessing barbaric terrorism acts. The people in these areas are living in perpetual fear because they can be attacked at any time. Socio-economic activities in villages are crippled by banditry to the extent that, in some places, one hardly sees a single animal not even a hen. They were all rustled. If you want to be a target for attack keep a goat in your house. The affected local government areas include, Sabon Birni; Isa, Gada; Illela; Rabah; Wurno; Gwadabawa; Goronyo; Silame; Binji; Tangaza; Gudu and Kebbe. Sokoto has 23 local government areas but 13 of them are affected by banditry. These local governments produce different kind of food items, ranging from rice, millet, guinea corn, onion to water melon, garlic and ginger in commercial quantity. But this is disrupted by banditry. Many farmers have abandoned their farms for fear of abduction or being killed. Others are being forced to pay levies before they can work on their farmlands. It is also estimated that huge amounts of money, running into hundreds of millions, are being paid either as ransom or levies by the locals. Some of them lost their relatives because they could not raise the amount demanded by bandits as ransom. Many children are rendered orphans and thousands of people are rendered refugees in their own country.

Education is also affected as many schools were closed down in those areas; only those at the local government headquarters are functioning. Another annoying part of it is that the bandits spare no children, women and elders in their attacks. Thus many of these vulnerable people are abused maimed, killed or kidnapped for ransom.

You may recall that a prominent traditional ruler in Sokoto was abducted and gruesomely murdered by his abductors. There was also an entire family, including husband, his mother, stepmother, wife and sister who was kidnapped in Sokoto and their driver killed with his corpse fed to the dogs by the bandits.

Similarly, on September 22, 2021, bandits attacked and killed 22 security operatives at Bukursuma village of Sabon Birni local government and displaced villages like Gatawa, Gangara all within the same week.

Honestly, banditry remains the biggest security threat in Sokoto and other states in the Northwestern region. Not too long ago, terrorists tagged as armed bandits, attacked and killed 74 people and destroyed properties worth millions of Naira in different villages such as Garki where 25 persons were killed, Dan Aduwa 13, Kuzari 25, Lugu 12 and five each in Duhuwa and Masawa villages.

As a security adviser to the governor and retired army officer, what do you think should be done to rid these areas of banditry?

We know the federal government in collaboration with the state governments and other security agencies are doing their best to restore peace in our region. You are the people who reported the marching order given to the Ministers of Defence and Security Chiefs to relocate to Sokoto and ensure normalcy returns in our banditry infested communities. I have been saying it that the state government is very committed to this fight against bandits and other forms of criminality. Just last two weeks, hundreds of motorcycles and patrol vehicles were released to local government areas for the use of our local security guards which were established recently by the state government. This is in addition to other support given to conventional security agencies like the police, army, civil defence corps, among others. A total number of 70 brand new patrol vehicles, including Toyota Buffalo and Hilux were distributed to them. Similarly, brand new motorcycles were given to DSS and the state government has continued to support them with other logistics that would ease their operations. We also maintain a weekly security meeting where we review our security situation. But the governor, despite being the chief security officer in his state, cannot give directives to our soldiers; only the president who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Gives them command.

But by and large we are grateful to Mr President and our armed forces because their ongoing intervention is yielding positive result. Just last week, one of the notorious bandits? kingpin going by the name Halili Sububu and several of his foot soldiers were killed by the army. And this operation is ongoing, we are hoping it would be sustained until we get rid of these bad elements.

However, to consolidate on our victory, there are certain things which we need to address. First, government needs to fish out different saboteurs in the police, military, civilians and other security agencies who sell or hire out firearms to bandits and order criminal elements or divulge confidential information to them.

There is also the need for those small villages to be merged and form a big city. This will enable the government to provide them with social amenities and even create police outposts which can be able to responds quickly to any threats.

Furthermore, there is the need for peace building initiatives. Government should ensure even distribution of wealth and equal treatment of citizenry, find a way of resolving herders-farmers conflicts by providing grazing areas for herders. Additionally, there should be an awareness campaign to sensitise the public to the need to contribute their quotas towards having a peaceful and secured country by reporting any suspicious element in their areas no matter how close that person is to them. Security is everybody?s business. It cannot be left to the government alone.

The civil and human rights organisations should collaborate with security agencies to ensure human rights are protected during operations. And political groups must work together to promote peace and peaceful coexistence among their people. There is also the need for general improvement of living standards of Nigerians, particularly those living in border areas. This will encourage them to provide credible intelligence to security operatives as regards to suspicious movements in their communities.

Political will is necessary in fighting insurgency and criminal elements in the country. Government at all levels needs to be committed to this.

Nigerians should support our troops and other security agencies with fervent prayers for their success. And lastly, military and other security operatives must clearly define their duties and skills to avoid errors. Recruitment of more security personnel, especially, immigration, customs and police is needed, because the federal government must do everything possible to secure our borders and this can be achieved by improving surveillance and deployment of advanced technology because we have the financial capability to do so. (Sunday Tribune)

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