The Gbagyi Elders Forum (GEF) has stated that in response to persistent attacks on farming communities in Kaduna, Niger, Kogi, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), they have resorted to spiritual means to combat bandits and insurgents.

The forum noted that while this approach has yielded some positive results, their youths, who have volunteered as vigilantes and members of the Civilian Task Force, require government support with sophisticated weapons to effectively challenge the adversaries.

Reading the communiqu? in Minna, the Niger State capital, at the end of the official unveiling of Gbagyi Elders Forum themed ?Uniting for a Greater Future?, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Forum, Elder Peterson Kaura, called on the Federal Government and the state governments of Niger, Kaduna, Kogi, and the FCT to renew partnerships to end the assaults on farming communities.

He expressed concerns that Gbagyi cultural heritage is being threatened by insecurity, urbanization, and political and economic marginalization.

He emphasized that the forum is ready to collaborate with the government to address these challenges.

Mr. Kaura stated that the Gbagyi Elders Forum was to serve as a pressure group advocating for the emancipation of the Gbagyi people, particularly against banditry and insurgency, while also promoting economic and educational development in Gbagyi communities across Niger, Kaduna, Nasarawa, the FCT, and Kogi States.

?There is an urgent need for governments at all levels to collaborate to tackle the insecurity and banditry that has been ravaging our ancestral land, especially in Kaduna, Niger, Kogi, and the FCT.

?A Gbagyi Land Rights Committee shall be set up to strategize and engage with policymakers and government authorities to address ancestral land ownership rights and protection, as well as secure compensation for displaced communities.

?The Federal Government should award the contract for the completion of the road extending from Sarkin-Pawa, Munya LGA of Niger State, to Kaduna to aid security operations and open up the land to economic activities,? he said.

Also speaking, retired Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Andrew Doma. said the adoption of a spiritual approach has helped communities counter attacks and capture bandits and terrorists.

He, however, lamented that the youths who have voluntarily formed vigilante groups and the Civil Task Force to protect their communities lack the necessary weapons to engage bandits effectively.

?At our own level, as elders of the Gbagyi people who have been suffering attacks by bandits and insurgents, we use several means to contain the attacks. One of these means is the use of a spiritual approach, where people employ traditional methods to capture the bandits. This method has been used to prevent strangers from seeing roads, causing them to get lost and fall, making it easier for our people to capture them.

?Secondly, we organized our youths into vigilante groups, and they have been performing well. Unfortunately, they do not have the sophisticated weapons that the bandits possess because the law does not permit vigilantes to carry such arms. This remains a significant challenge, and we urge the Federal Government to allow them access to these weapons.

?The immediate past administration in Niger State supported our youths with weapons, but they were not as sophisticated as those used by the bandits,? he said. (Daily Trust)

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