Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State says Nigeria stands the risk of being overrun by bandits unless the Federal Government takes decisive measures to end the reign of terror building up in the Northeast.
The governor, while speaking at a media briefing organised by the Presidential Media Team on Thursday in Abuja, also disclosed that his state spends over N200 million monthly to tackle insecurity.
“In some months, we spend up to N400 million to support security agencies operating in the state”
“The insurgency in the Northwest is far more serious than Boko Haram both in terms of the numbers of the people affected. I have shown you the numbers in Kaduna. I can assure you that the numbers in Zamfara and Katsina are up to three times this if they are keeping taps. The numbers in Sokoto, Niger, and Kebbi will be about this.
“We are talking of tens of thousands of people getting killed, getting kidnapped. It is far more serious than Boko Haram. The only thing is that these guys don’t occupy territory, they are in the forest and ungoverned spaces. So, they do not attract the kind of single-minded attention that Boko Haram does. And because Boko Haram’s ideology is religious, intentionally religious, it elicits more passion but really, this is a far more serious problem.
“Because, this is a situation largely in which people of about the same ethnicity, same religion are killing each other, stealing each other’s property. Creating an industry out of criminality. It’s very serious and it requires single-minded attention.
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Governor El- Rufai revealed that the government has identified where the bandits are, adding that “we have the maps. But somebody has to go in and kill them. I can’t do that. If that somebody doesn’t have enough men, doesn’t have enough firepower, doesn’t have technology, no one is going to commit suicide.
This is why under this administration; the Nigeria Governors’ Forum collaborated with the Federal Government to take money from the excess crude account to buy Super Tucano jets and other armaments to strengthen our defence system”
He revealed that Kidnapping in the zone has evolved into “serious money-spinning business and response uncoordinated. The only good bandits are the dead ones”
In 2015, the security challenges were mainly in form of cattle rustling, armed robbery and communal clashes. By 2017, they had evolved significantly into high level banditry, kidnapping for ransom, violent and reprisals attacks and ethnic profiling linked to banditry.
Over the years, insecurity became a serious challenge across the seven states of the Northwest, including Niger and Kaduna State and later Zamfara and Katsina.
He noted that Kaduna was getting more of the media focus; perhaps because it is more cosmopolitan and its population more diverse than others in the areas.
Statistics from the state revealed that a total of 3,348 were kidnapped, 1,192 killed, 891 injured and 13,623 animals rustled in 2021 alone, compared to 1,972 kidnapped in 2020, with 937 killed and 7195 animals rustled.
El-Rufai linked the astronomical rise in banditry and kidnapping in Kaduna to the huge financial gains arising from the ransom paid by the kidnap victims.
“It has become a source of huge revenue for the Fulani bandits. For example, a Fulani man who sells his cow for only N250,000 and suddenly realizes that he can make huge money from banditry, he will not want to stop”
He also linked the rising security the challenges in the Northwest to inadequate coordination efforts and insufficient security footprint. Others include shortage of personnel, inadequate equipment and poor technology deployment.
He noted that although all parts of the state are affected by the security challenges, added that “banditry is exacerbating communal tensions and violence in parts of Kaduna South senatorial district
He revealed that the state procured drones to monitor the bandits, but noted that the Nigeria security operatives are unable to match them, due to their better military weapons
“We use the drones to locate where their camps are, we have their phone numbers. “They move seamlessly. So, what we need to do is to bomb them and wipe them out once and for all.
“The amount of money they are making is too much. The only solution is to wipe them out because it has become a business for them.
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