(Big Story)

By

Managing Editor
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Zamfara state has been on the national news again over the resurgence of fresh attacks by the armed bandits, especially along Maradun-Bakura axis of the state.

Last week Saturday, armed bandits in their large number invaded people of Sikkida community on the broad-day light and banned them from going to the farm.

On hearing of the news of the attack, some members of the vigilante groups from the neighboring village of Janbako mobilized to offer reinforcement, but they were ambushed by the suspected bandits along the way.

Over twenty of them were brutally murdered by the bandits, while about four were badly injured as a result of the attack.

A few hours into the attack on the vigilante people from Janbako another set of armed bandits invaded Goran Namaye village, also in Maradun and abducted over thirty women who had resumed work on their farmlands.

“They were abducted right inside their farms and moved to the forest without knowing their exact location.

Ten out of the over thirty women abducted later escaped from captivity according to a source, while the rest are still in the hand of the bandits.

Police and community people exchanged contradictory views on whether the women escaped from captivity or their release was secured by the police as claimed.

The same day, another set of bandits invaded Rogoji village in the neighboring Bakura town and killed three persons.

The attack on the vigilantes at Rogoji was also triggered by the activities of the informants who were alleged to have alerted the bandits on the plan by the vigilante groups to offer protection to the local farmers.

Rogoji village is less than a kilometer away from Bakura town and Bakura is a neighboring local government with Maradun.

The attack on the people of Rogoji village sparked tension as locals became provoked and moved on to set the temporary structures set up by the IDP’s ablaze.

It was suspected that, the IDP’s that leaves around Rogoji village and Bakura are harboring informants alleging that, it was the informants that leaves within the IDP’s that are responsible for communicating with the bandits.

BANDITS RENEW THEIR THREAT AGAINST THE LOCAL FARMERS

It is apparently clear that bandits have issued a warning or threat against the locals that they should avoid their farmlands or suffer their anger.

A source on condition of anonymity told this medium that, the bandits have warned the local farmers to stay away from their farms; hence they would not allow them to access their farms for farming activities.

He stated that this is apart from the fact that communities around Maradun and Bakura have been paying levies often time enforced to them by the bandits and despite that, the bandits have been causing serious hardship on them regularly.

He noted that the authorities have been helpless in providing the needed peace despite agitation and calls from the local communities over the brutal operations of the bandits.

The renown Bakolori irrigation project is in between Maradun, Mafara and Bakura and the people of the area are known for their historic farming activities.

For some years now, the farming activities along Maradun, Mafara and Bakura have become disrupted due to constant threats and attacks by the bandits.

Many renown farmers had been pushed out of their farms by the bandits due to fear of invasion and abduction, even as many from Janbako, Faru and Gidan goga had fled their homes for the fear of the unknown.

SECURITY PRESENCE ALONG MARADUN AND BAKURA AREAS

It is apparently clear that the former Governor of Zamfara Bello Matawalle who hailed from Maradun has tried his possible best to ensure that security presence had been beeped up along the area although it has not changed the narrative in terms of frequent attacks against the locals in the area.

He has built a mobile police barracks and equipped them with mobile vehicles to ease their operation and also ensure that their upkeep has been provided for the ease of early response.

There is also a military base established at the entrance of the Maradun town meant for them to respond to the emergency calls by the locals.

This is different from the number of rapid response teams of the police, army and civil defense operatives that have been regularly posted to offer reinforcement during the period of emergencies.

Despite these stocks, there is also a detachment of armed mobile operatives and personnel of the military operating along Maradun Mafara and Bakura local governments.

Just last year, some NSCDC operatives were allegedly ambushed and brutally murdered by the gang of armed bandits along Bakura area.

Presently, in between Colony area and Bakura there is a detachment of soldiers joint with the mobile police along the main highway and believed to be deployed to offer reinforcement to the people and commuters operating along the area.

From Lambar Bakura to Bimasa the Zamfara border town with Sokoto, there are about four to five checkpoints of both the military and armed police officers stationed to offer security and reinforcement in case of the armed bandit attacks along Bakura area.

But alas! residents insisted that despite these huge number of security deployment Bakura and Maradun had become danger zones of the armed bandits operations.

MILITARY REPEL ATTACKS IN MARADUN AND BAKURA

It was evident that the military operatives under Operation Hadarin Daji had repelled about two possible attacks by the armed bandits in both Maradun and Bakura area.

They have also reported to neutralize many bandit camps and rescued some abductees already kidnapped by the armed bandits during some operations.

They have kept vigilant of the areas to ensure that the confidence of the people has been rebuilt although the attacks are still ongoing in some parts of the Maradun and Bakura local governments.

WHERE THE PROBLEM LIES

Stakeholders used to express different reactions as to the actual problem of why the armed bandit activities along Maradun, Bakura and Talatar Mafara is yet to be ended despite the security arrangements made as highlighted above.

Samaila Mudi Tsafe a popular social affairs commentator, is of the view that the strategy adopted in fighting the bandits is ill-effective because the conventional security forces are always waiting for the bandits to strike before they responded.

In his popular views, unless the security architecture fighting banditry in Zamfara are trained in such a away that they are the ones to launch a strike, not really waiting for the bandits to strike before they offer protection to the people, the conventional security may not succeed in fighting banditry in Zamfara state and North-West by extension.

“The locations of these bandits are known to all the security forces and for reasons best known to the Nigerian security forces, they always waited for the bandit’s to launch attack before they responded and this is the more reason why armed bandit attacks are always successful because they are the ones coordinating not the other way around.

He also faulted the fact that, there is no synergy and coordination between the security operatives, especially the police, air force and land army and the lack of this coordination and working in synergy is definitely affecting the success of the fight against the armed bandit operations.

“There is an effective flow of intelligence, especially from the site of the DSS and I have strong confidence in their operation, but the unanswered questions are why the authorities not utilizing this intelligent information shared by the DSS in addressing banditry” Mudi asked?.

THE REACTION OF THE NEW GOVERNMENT IN POWER

Evidently, the Governor of Zamfara state, Dauda Lawal has during his inauguration speech affirmed that the priority of his government is to provide a lasting security by fighting armed banditry to a logical conclusion.

He sought for the cooperation of all stakeholders and indeed the people of Zamfara state in ensuring that banditry has been fight to finishing.

Last week, after the armed bandit attacks in Maradun, the Deputy Governor of the state, Mal. Mani Malam Mumuni has paid a condolence visit to the people of the areas affected by the attacks in Maradun.

He had also paid a similar visit to the emirate of Tsafe over another separate attack by bandits in the area. The Governor himself had visited Tsafe when he returned to the state.

He has also met with the head of security outfits and indeed the traditional rulers where the issue of security has taken the center stage of the discussion.