Television Nigerian

… praises Chief of Army for aggressive strategy in ending security threats

The Northern Security Crusaders (NSC) have warned sponsors and promoters of banditry in the northwest to desist from the act or risk being named and shamed.

The group also saluted the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai for once again raising up to the occasion with an aggresive approach despite conspiracy from some high-ranking Nigerians.

Scores of bandits have been killed while many others captured barely two weeks since the ‘Operation Sahel Sanity’ was launched in Katsina.

However, the Northern Security Crusaders believe some prominent politicians are already frustrating the efforts of the troops.

In a statement signed by its Director of Media and Strategy, Abubakar Usman, on Friday, the group warned these promoters and sponsors of insecurity to quit their nefarious activities or face the consequences.

Amidst the blackmail, NSC hailed the COAS’ impactful leadership which it said has led to the successes of the various military operations across the country, most recently in the northwest.

While expressing total support for the troops, NSC called on all patriotic citizens to do likewise in their quest to address politically motivated acts of criminalities.

Read full statement below:

The Northern Security Crusaders having extensively analyzed the situation of things in Nigeria with regards to the efforts of the Nigerian Military in curbing the activities of terrorist and bandits across the country herby makes the following statements:

We wish to call on the politicians and sponsors of banditry in North West Nigeria to desist from their nefarious activities and know that the citizens of Nigeria are united behind the Nigerian Army and other security agencies to defeat the menace of banditry and other acts of criminalities.

This position of ours is hinged on the fact that the efforts of the Nigerian Military have been outstanding despite the various conspiracies against the success of the campaign of ridding Nigeria of criminal elements.

We are aware of the various innovations introduced by the Nigerian Army in its operations in North-East Nigeria such as the Super Camp Strategy, Operation Safe Corridor, and most recently Operation Sahel Sanity to eliminate banditry in Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto and Niger States.

It suffices to state that the bulk of the issues in the security sector in Nigeria are fuelled by agents of destabilization and political enemies of the country who are hell-bent on causing a crisis of imaginable proportion through the sponsorship of acts of banditry and other forms criminalities across the country in fulfillment of their political agenda of making the country erupt in flames.

The Northern Security Crusaders wishes to warn these politicians and sponsors of violence in the country to desist from their nefarious ways in the interest of peace in the country. We also want to state that the Northern Security Crusaders would not hesitate to expose these individuals and organizations that are fuelling the crisis in Nigeria.

The Northern Security Crusaders states in unequivocal terms that indeed the Nigerian Military has lived up to expectations in addressing the various security threats in North-East Nigeria and other parts of the country.

This is indeed commendable and an indication that the leadership of the Nigerian Military has provided that sound and responsive leadership needed in this critical point of our existence.
The Northern Security Crusaders wishes to thank the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai for the decisive and impactful leadership he has availed the Nigerian Army since his appointment which is indeed responsible for the successes of the various military operations in North-East Nigeria and other parts of the country.

There is no element of doubt that the Nigerian Army is more than committed to preserving the territorial integrity of Nigeria and this much is an indication that with the support of all discerning Nigerians it would achieve more success.

The Northern Security Crusaders is thereby calling on all patriotic citizens in Nigeria to extend their support to the Nigerian Military in their efforts at addressing the politically motivated acts of criminalities in Nigeria.

It must be stated that enough is enough for those individuals and organizations that are against the interest of the country. And this much the generality of Nigerians must come to terms with in the overall peace and progress of the country.

The Northern Security Crusaders is using this medium to extend its support to the Nigerian Military in its quest to make Nigeria habitable for all regardless of our religious and ethnic affiliations.  This is indeed a call to duty.

By Ibrahim Gwandu

To make good the order of President Muhammadu Buhari to Security Chiefs to redouble their efforts to rid the Northwest region of armed banditry and all forms of criminalities terrorizing rural communities, the Nigerian Army has launched the “Operation Sahel Sanity” (OSS). It was launched end of June 2020 in Faskari, Katsina State and, the success of the military operations in a very short while narrates itself evidently.

While launching “Operation Sahel Sanity,” (OSS), the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and punch man of the counter-insurgency operations, Lt. Gen. TY Buratai explained the gamut of the current operations to concentrate heavily in the states of Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, Kaduna and Niger, with intertwined thick forests. These forests provide shield and shelter to the armed bandits, who stage out recurrently to raid markets, communities, and in the rage, massively kill, kidnap, commit acts of arson and rustle cows.

The pandemic of armed banditry and cattle rustling in the Northwest undisguisedly is a problem which preceded the administration of President Buhari. In 2015, the President in due adherence to his oath of office to protect the lives and property of Nigerians, ordered the Nigerian Army to conduct special military operations in these areas to purge the communities of armed bandits and other criminal elements.

Gen. Buratai responded instantaneously by launching the “Operation Sharan Daji,” “Operation MESA,” among others at different times. These special military operations by the Army, cleansed the communities of bandits, allied criminals, restored sanity and security besieged people. What is happening today in the Northwest region is a resurgence of the same experience, encountered by the people prior to 2015, but were liberated in the post-2015 era.

Its worthy of mention that in the last five years, the Nigerian Army has proved its mettle as equal to the task of neutralizing armed bandits and other criminals in the region. And this task has been seamlessly possible because President Buhari has fulfilled his side of the bargain by motivating the Army and providing the necessary weapons for these security combats. Gen. Buratai also properly decoded his Commander-In-Chief’s message and appropriately delivered on the assignment timely.

But it is quite sad and very disturbing that bandits and other criminal gangs have kept resurfacing in the Northwest to disrupt the peace and security of communities and villages in the region. However, a massage the resentful development has passed to active minds is that some critical stakeholders in the afflicted places are failing to play their roles to permanently end banditry and associated criminalities.

It is discernible that some persons have clearly, shirked, bolstered, overlooked or abandoned their responsibilities as leaders or opinion moulders or influencers over the menace of armed banditry. It is dreamy and absolutely thoughtless for anyone to think military reconnaissance and raids alone will impose an enduring panacea to the scourge of armed banditry and cattle rustling or associated vices in the region.

Gen. Buratai and soldiers alone cannot ensure the permanence of peace and security in the Northwest. It is beyond the sounds of guns and the matching sounds of boots. And this has to be discerned from different dimensions for obvious reasons.

First, in spite of all pretensions, but there is no Nigerian, including people of the Northwest who is unaware that ardent and unrepentant opponents of the President Buhari and enemies of Nigeria have activated their acts again. They are propelled by envy, so schemes and works veiled shadows every day to blur the laudable achievements the Buhari administration is showcasing in varied sectors of the country.

These fifth columnists and enemies of Nigeria hate to hear President Buhari has earned credit and accolades in sectors previous leaders failed to deposit a lasting impression. It inspires anger in them.

Therefore, part of their evil machinations is the sponsorship of terrorism, ethno-religious crisis, communal clashes, pastoralists and farmers conflagrations and other violent conflicts to destabilize the nation and discredit the government. The spate of resurgent armed banditry and cattle rustling troubling the Northwest now is part of the contrivances of these evil doers. Nigerians must wake-up to this incontestable reality and truth.

Unfortunately, the painful truth is that the enemies of Nigeria; the evil doers and satanic forces have found dependable allies in the communities under the affliction of terrorism or armed banditry or wherever these acts of violence are perpetrated. The internal allies assist them in the execution of this evil against their own people. This may sound forlorn to some minds, but it is the effervescent reality. In the long run, both the guilty and the innocent suffer the same plaque of terror.

Imagine to understand that two years back, security agents apprehended a traditional ruler in one of the Northwestern states, who shamefully served as informants to bandits and cattle rustlers terrorizing the community he presides over as their king. There is nothing more astounding than this reality. And there are many of such people in communities and villages under siege of armed bandits in the Northwest or terrorists in the Northeast. It is one of the many mysteries or wonders in Nigeria. Who can beat this?

Sometime this year, Gen. Buratai drummed a point, which sounded simple, but very weighty and instructive concerning the insecurities assailing Nigeria. While speaking in Lagos at the 2020 Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Security Meets Business Dialogue, the Army Chief declared and asked rhetorically that “We are fighting the mind. So, can the Military fight the mind of the people? This is not the job of the Military.”

This is a hard truth, which can only be reversed by the people through concerted actions to fight a common evil against them. There is the nagging and subsisting problem of demonic indoctrination and psychological brainwash of youths into imbibing proclivities or acts of violence, armed banditry and terrorism to levels of masochism. Their minds are colonized and galvanized towards evil and a pull back is only possible when leaders step up the game of their counselling, which is now completely abandoned to the dictates of force of the Military.

Military actions alone are not enough to end this menace. It goes beyond it. This is where inevitably, Nigerians particularly leaders of thought, traditional rulers, political leaders, religious leaders and the local communities must also scale-up the game of collaboration with the Nigerian Army to end the reign of armed banditry in the Northwest or terror elsewhere in the country.

Each of the special operations launched by the Army in the past to contain the fury of armed banditry and other criminalities in the Northwest or elsewhere has been resoundingly successful. But how long does the respite lasts before the same insecurity threats buds again and explodes in greater dimensions? The Army cannot be in these communities permanently and once they pullout, the same criminals resurface after a while. So, who is failing to fulfil his part of the bargain? The leaders of different shades in these communities have a moral obligation to do the needful.

And because these community leaders have abdicated on their basic responsibilities to their people; it has placed numerous hurdles on the path of the Nigerian Army in securing total and sustained victory against bandits, as in the case of the Northwest. Why do some leaders horde information about the presence of bandits, shield, shelter and protect them in these localities, from the eagle eyes of security agents?

Generally, Northern leaders regardless of political or religious affinities must wake-up to the reality now. In a federation under democracy like Nigeria, numerical strength is an important and potent tool of political bargain. It is senseless for these leaders to keep allowing the sustained depopulation of their communities and villages through acts of banditry and terrorism.

The time to team up with the Army to extricate them from these insecurities is now. In the current operations, the Army requires the support of the communities for sharing of vital information on activities of bandits; exposure of those who shield, protect, shelter and support the atrocities of bandits and cattle rulers. If Nigeria must win the war against banditry, it implies that these artificial obstacles community members have infused into the military operations should be cleared.

Gen. Buratai and soldiers have done a lot. And now in Northwest again, with “Operation Sahel Sanity,” troops as usual will coercively berth the peace, with the adoption of Super Camp Concept IV. It is good news that within a week of the Army’s “Operation Sahel Sanity,” in the Northwest, the success it has recorded is attested in neutralization of over 100 armed bandits, rescue of several kidnap victims, recovery of arms and ammunitions, in addition to recovery of l700 herds of rustled cattle and similar number of sheep. Also, the Army has arrested scores of bandits’ informants and logistics suppliers.

The performance tracking of the Army on this assignment has excited the Arewa Youth Security Network (AYSN) which has publicly eulogized Gen. Buratai and the soldiers, as they branded it an outstanding success. The leader of the counter-insurgency operations does not disappoint. This is highly commendable.

And soon, the Army will deliver the Northwest, cleansed of armed bandits and sanitized to normalcy, back to its owners. They have a choice either to preserve this security sanity or abuse it. But let it be known that President Buhari has played his part by ordering the Army for special operations and the, troops have done the needful by neutralizing these armed bandits. The community leaders now have the inescapable burden of sustaining it. #

Gwandu is a peace-building facilitator based in Gusau.

By Enemali Ajibili

The wave of renewed rural armed banditry, cattle rustling and inter-connected crimes, which is the bane of security in Nigeria’s Northwest zone has spurred fresh concerns to inhabitants of this geographical zone. It is not only the people directly at the receiving end of these organized crimes by armed criminals that are worried, but every Nigerian is having sleepless nights over this unacceptable development.

At the beginning of the present political dispensation, some State Chief Executives in the Northwest region, like the Zamfara state Governor, Alhaji Bello Mohammad Matawalle and his Katsina state counterpart, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari and so forth, played their hands on the option of peace talks with the bandits and their representatives.

Interestingly, other leaders and stakeholders were involved in the dialogue to find lasting solutions to the horrendous acts of armed bandits and their collaborators. Armed banditry in the region generally started in Zamfara, like Borno state also bears the infamous badge of importing Boko Haram terrorism into Nigeria

Initially, the criminals agreed to armistice or a ceasefire; pledging to allow peace reign. Precisely, Zamfara’s Gov. Matawalle was widely hailed and celebrated beyond the shores of the Northwest, and nationwide for achieving peace and security in the troubled state within his first 100 days in office. He recorded this feat in just 57 days of his administration.

Good and relieving as it sounded, the consensus reached with armed bandits soon ran into muddy waters. And the signs came plainly pointing to the sponsors and veiled actors. And what followed needed no interpretation of a soothsayer to understand.

The incumbent Governor Matawalle had disagreements on political and governance issues in the state with his predecessor, Alhaji Abdullaziz Yari. The face-off between the duo simmered explosively and dramatically saw the revival and return of bandits, who had downed weapons. It marked the end of the peace pact with bandits.

The experience of Zamfara is similar to virtually all the states where armed banditry has become a torn in the flesh in the Northwest. And bad blood stimulated by politics of leadership, control of state resources and the battle of supremacy among stakeholders and leaders in these states have fertilized, greased and nourished armed banditry.

Of course, there could be other factors favourable to the bludgeoning of banditry in the region, but the refusal of these criminal acts to abate despite several seemingly fortified interventions voices a failure somewhere within. Therefore, the Northwest region has continued to be assailed, burdened and caged by these criminal armed gangs. And in a region with a predominantly forested terrain smooth for their operations, rural dwellers have been subjected to avoidable pains, sorrows and hardships for the heartlessness and insensitivity of others.

But those worst hit by the atrocities of bandits are innocent citizens and, so, it has elicited the concern of Nigeria, and Nigerians. The world is concerned and humanity is upset by it. It is confounding that some Nigerians have pleasured in sowing a different version of Boko Haram insurgency in Northwest. It is more painful that those responsible for arresting these acts of criminality at the embryonic stage have preferred to be onlookers, promoters and sponsors of the death sentence on their people.

It is one of the costly mistakes Nigerians made by failing to descend the sledge hammer on Boko Haram at its infantile stage, until it developed a thick skin. In the Northwest too, there is a conscious imitation of the indifference and lacunas which created conducive atmosphere for the consolidation and thriving of Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast region.

Many can still remember that leaders of different shades under the auspices of Borno Elders Forum (BEF), where Boko Haram sprouted were indifferent to the brewing and potentially explosive and dangerous insurgency in their enclaves. But unconscionably, they rushed to assemble, deliberate and issue a public statement, stating their position and condemnation of the administration of President Buhari for clampdown on the extremists religious sect, the Sheik Ibraheem El-Zakzaky’s led aberrant and illegal Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), otherwise known as the Shiites in Nigeria.

To date, BEF has remained aloof to the Boko Haram insurgency, which has entrenched itself and hijacked by external forces and terror sects, as exemplified by ISWAP. For years, Boko Haram has not only been a national security problem, but both Nigerians and the indigenes of the Northeast can bear testimony to its devastative and destructive effects on the once peaceful region. The people of the Northwest are replicating the same culture of silence, endorsement and emboldening of the acts of armed banditry in the Northwest, instead of working against it.

Furthermore, Boko Haram insurgency started as a militant religious sect, with the agenda of imposing an Islamic state on Nigeria, beginning with the Northeast. Ignore its initially defined ideology as religious, but many would agree that Boko Haram insurgency has multiplied into political and economic wings.

Its confirmatory that while the administration of President Buhari has substantially blighted the fires of religious Boko Haramists. The resurgent and festering character now in the country is attributable to its morphed political and economic branches.

It is evident in the concentration of Boko Haram activities in the oil-rich Lake Chad Basin, actively backed by some dubious foreign countries with vast interest in the natural crude oil and mineral resources of the region. The people of the Northwest are making a similar mistake in the case of the armed banditry and cattle rustling crimes committed by cursed criminal gangs in the zone.

So, apart from the other numerous problems contending against the effective tackling of banditry in the Northwest, by the Army, there are also the mischief makers who have successfully re-baptized the acts of armed banditry and other criminalities in the zone with tags unrelated to what is happening in the area. There is a very conspicuous, conscious and misleading politicization of armed banditry in the Northwest by labelling the crimes as ethnic or religious.

Given the explosive nature of religious and ethnicity issues in Nigeria, these are very repulsive attempts to inflame minds and ginger the further rapid spread of armed banditry and cattle rustling to other parts of North. This is completely irrational and satanic. These armed bandits are clearly criminals, further driven by economic motives and to propagate inaccurate identities of the armed banditry activities, even where it resists is erecting conditions conducive for its boundless escalation.

Like BEF, the leaders in Northwest are doing nothing or very little to contain, the hate preachments, indoctrination and massive recruitment of their youths into these terrible and armed criminal sects terrorizing and oppressing their people. The implication is that these Northwest leaders have not learnt the lessons abound from insurgency in the Northeast. Therefore, one can notice a discomforting repetition of the mistakes which landed the Northeast into the trouble and security quagmire it faces today. Northern Nigeria; no lessons learnt yet?

But it must be stated definitely that members of every criminal sect are first and foremost from an ethnic or religious group. Nonetheless, once a man decides to take to criminal enterprise, especially of the kind that savours bloodletting of his kith and kin and other Nigerians, he becomes unpardonably an enemy of all.

The earlier we realize that the bandits are enemies of humanity and not of any particular ethnic stock or religious sect, the better it is for natives of the region and Nigeria as a nation. This is a wake -up call for all men and women of goodwill to see armed banditry, the terror sects operating in Nigeria now and allied criminalities in the regions as an evil or threats to all humanity irrespective of their religious or ethnic affiliations.

Once a security problem is allowed to entrench deeply, it becomes difficult to uproot it. It took the decisive and focused leadership of the Nigerian Army under Lt. Gen TY Buratai, the COAS and leader of counter-insurgency operations to unveil Boko Haram and their sponsors as enemies of humanity.

The Army Chief took the battle to Boko Haram’s strongest havens in Sambisa forest and vicinities, as evident in the hatred of him by Shekau and his men. Shekau has shown it lamentingly in videos and all manner of public messages, even during the last Ramadan fasting, in which they trumpeted that Buratai and the Nigerian Army are against them. But it has been a tough confrontation, with its attendant waste of precious lives and public resources at great cost to the Nigerian state.

Gen. Buratai has stepped into the furnace once again, with “Operation Sahel Sanity,” to offer arrest the situation and offer respite to the people trapped by armed bandits. It behooves on the natives to evolve ways to consummate the respite and bliss permanently, as failure to do it, is incontestably to their detriment exclusively.

There is every need for Nigerians and in particular, people of the Northwest to learn that bitter lesson from the Northeast. And every other person that seeks to divide the country through such divisive campaigns, instead of identifying the actual problem accurately and standing together to bring an end to the issue of banditry in the Northwest should first consider himself doomed before others. Peace and security are the only antidotes to development and prosperity. #

Ajibili wrote this piece from Abuja.