It is not understatement to say Niger state has been battling ferocious bandits who have sacked many of its communities and displaced thousands people. The activities of bandits have forced many peasant farmers to desert their ancestral lands. However, the statement credited to Governor Abubakar Sani-Bello on the infiltration of elements of Boko Haram into Niger state, two hours drive to Abuja, the capital city of the country, is frightening, to say the least. Although, before Governor Sani-Bello’s outburst, many security experts have expressed the fear that, Boko Haram must have tied a knot or collaborate with bandits in the North-west states and parts of Niger state to carry out their dastardly acts. The recent abduction of Kankara school boys, reminiscent of Chibok and Dapchi style and for Boko Haram claimed responsibility, heightened apprehension that the group has finally carved its fiefdom in North West.
It was really baffling that our security and intelligence agencies looked the other way when sensitive information on the infiltration of Boko Haram kept emerging. Now, Governor Sani-Bello has further revealed that the deadly group has conquered some communities and hoisted its flag. Niger state will now have to contend with two variant of insecurity, namely, banditry and Boko Haram, with likely spilling effect on other communities that are bordering the state. The emergence of Boko Haram in Niger state came at a time when Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa state raised similar alarm on the presence of Boko Haram in Nasarawa state. Unless pragmatic and coordinated military actions are taken, the group will in no distant time start carrying out their attacks on the remaining helpless communities and by extension the nation’s capital.
There is the need for government to quickly mobilise adequate security and despatch them to Niger state forest where these notorious non-state actors have grouped and want to extend their territory. We have seen how their murderous activities affected Borno state. The government should not give them any breathing space.
Ibrahim Mustapha,
Pambegua, Kaduna state
08169056963.
