By Babs Oyetoro, Clement Adeyi, Olusegun Olanrewaju, Cajetan Mmuta, and Deborah Onyofufeke, with agency report
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) yesterday said the Air Component of Operations Hadarin Daji and Hadin Kai have in different air interdictions, killed dozens of terrorists in Katsina and Borno during the weekend.
This came as an army officer and a private soldier lost their lives after they were ambushed by terrorists in Buratai, Biu Local Government Area of Borno State on Friday.
Following the surge in the activities of bandits across the country in recent times, Nigerians have aligned with President Bola Tinubu to call these criminal elements terrorists.
The Director of Public Relations and Information of NAF, Air-Vice-Marshal Edward Gabkwet, in a statement yesterday in Abuja, said the streak of successful air strikes denied terrorists freedom of movement aimed at targeting soft targets, especially innocent civilians.
He said that one such strikes were carried out on April 5, at a terrorist enclave located in the North West of Yartsamiya Village in Danmusa Local Government Area of Katsina.
According to him, a set of 11 armed terrorists were sighted moving toward a mountainous area at the location.
“Soon after, two separate sets of terrorists joined the first set of terrorists, and all were observed heading toward the same direction toward the mountainous high ground. The need not to let the opportunity of neutralising the terrorists thus became imperative.
“Subsequently, the terrorists were effectively engaged by NAF aircraft in several passes with several neutralised and the few survivors scampering in disarray,” he said.
Gabkwet said the air strikes by the Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai in the early hours of Saturday at Grazah in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno, also yielded the requisite outcome.
He said the previous intelligence had revealed that Grazah, previously known as a hideout for terrorists, was converted into a logistics storage hub and an area for fabricating their Improvised Explosive Devices and other ammunition.
According to him, recent intelligence also revealed significant terrorists activities consistent with terrorists’ behaviour around some makeshift structures at the location.
“Consequently, air interdiction was conducted at the location with Battle Damage Assessment footages and feedback received revealing several terrorists neutralised.
“These operations carried out deep into terrorists’ enclaves, will continue as these areas are believed to aid their recruitment, training, and nurturing of potential terrorists.
“Attacking their logistics hubs also helps in reducing their ability to carry out massive attacks, especially on innocent civilians and troop’s location.
“The provision of timely information/intelligence by the populace has also been key to the successes recorded and will remain so if sustained,” he added.
Meanwhile, the slain officer in the Borno ambush was identified as Lt. A.S Maidawa, with an unnamed private.
They were attached to the forward operational base in Buratai, under the Nigerian Army 27 Task Force Brigade in Buni Gari, Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State.
Maidawa was leading troops to Damaturu, to buy fuel when their convoy was ambushed around Kamuya and Azare villages in Biu LGA, our source said, asking not to be named for fear of victimisation by the army.
The terrorists exploited the forest area and the bad road network to launch the ambush, but the soldiers repelled the attack and reportedly killed some of the terrorists.
It was learnt that four other soldiers who sustained injuries in the attack are responding to treatment at a facility in Yobe.
The ambush by terrorists in Borno came less than a month after some suspected residents of the Okuama in Delta State, on 14 March, ambushed and murdered the Commanding Officer of 181 Army Amphibious Battalion, two majors, one captain, and 13 soldiers.
*Nigerians call for stiffer sanctions against bandits
Meanwhile, concerned Nigerians are unanimous in their opinions in condemning these dastardly acts perpetrated by unscrupulous elements troubling the peace of the Nigerian state.
As the country enters the second quarter of the year, the spate of kidnapping and killings continues unabated.
The insecurity challenges have been attributed to poverty and unemployment.
ThisNigeria gathered yesterday that despite security agencies’ renewed commitment to winning the battle against the perpetrators, ransoms were paid before some kidnapped victims were rescued, but the government has severally said there was no payment of ransom in the rescue of some victims.
Scores of security experts, public analysts, civil society organisations, and other concerned Nigerians who spoke to ThisNigeria yesterday condemned the criminal tendencies.
Some of them urged the government not to refer to the perpetrators as bandits, but as terrorists because their criminal tendencies portray them as terrorists and they should be treated as terrorists.
They, however, commended President Tinubu for referring to them as terrorists, unlike the past administration which referred to them as bandits.
A senior lawyer, Emeka Agbapuonwu, said, “These people are terrorists. Why they are branded bandits was to clothe them and give them a new identity because the previous government was unwilling to prosecute them and treat them as terrorists, which they are.”
He added, “If you are kidnapped, abducted, raped and you are killed because you didn’t pay a ransom, what should people call them? Are they not terrorists? The truth is that they have an origin. It was a former president’s people (Fulani) that brought them in around 2014 because they wanted to use them to fight for the election in 2015.
“These people are not Nigerians. They are from neighbouring countries. There was a time when those who brought them went to Birnin Kebbi to negotiate with them to return them to where they brought them and they demanded hundreds of billions of naira. But when they could not reach a compromise, they started kidnapping people. They claim that they don’t speak English, but French.
“So, if Tinubu now calls them terrorists, it means that the government has changed their perspective, unlike the Buhari government that used to call them bandits.
“So, I support Tinubu for giving them the name terrorists, that’s what they are. These people are terrorists.”
Another seasoned lawyer and politician, John Chibunna Okoli-Akrika said, “The truth is that fundamentally and constitutionally, the security of lives and property constitute the main functions and duties of government. That’s why there is government in the first instance.”
“Whether you classify them as bandits, terrorists, kidnappers, no matter your nomenclature, no matter the designation, the fact is that a very serious crime is being committed against the state and humanity.
“So, the earlier the government faces the real business of guaranteeing the security of lives and property of citizens, the better it is for the country. So, trying to engage in the unnecessary distinction between terrorists, kidnappers, and bandits and all whatnot, is not a solution to the issue,” Okoli-Akrika said.
“The government should rise to its constitution and show duty to protect lives and property of citizens and not to engage in unnecessary and elementary acts of classifying or delimiting terrorists, bandits, and kidnappers. They are all criminals,” he added.
The Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law (InterSociety), Emeka Umeagbalasi, identified two categories of criminals in criminology.
He said there are those described as street criminals and terrorists or insurgents, adding that they are differentiated based on their objectives or motives behind their violence.
He added, “If a group of people take up arms against the government, or a religious sect to inflict fear or violence; genocide or carnage, you don’t describe such people as street criminals.
”The motive behind their activities may be a combination of factors principally against an ethnic group or a religious group or any state or country. They cannot be described as street criminals.”
Umeagbalasi noted that banditry was a coinage by Nigerians, especially the Islamic radicals in the system.
He explained that, in June 2020, all the non-state actors in Nigeria such as ANSARU, Boko Haram, ISWAP, and Fulani bandits/herdsmen gathered somewhere in the North and formed an alliance for the promotion of radical Islamism.
“Again, when a group is committing a crime, you look at their core objectives. So, I do not share the belief with the Federal Government in situating the criminal entities in Nigeria,” he said.
”In fact, there is partisanship on the side of the Federal Government, whether the security forces, armed forces, police, DSS, the Federal Government, in particular, whether headed by Tinubu or Buhari. And you know all these things started under Buhari. So, the bandits are terrorists,” he added.
Another legal practitioner, Nnaemeka Ejiofor, said, “I don’t think there is any implication in addressing them as terrorists. The only thing is that whether you call them bandits, or you call them terrorists, they are breaking the law.
“When they come to a school and kidnap dozens or hundreds of students, they have breached the law, especially the Terrorism Prevention Act. Addressing them as bandits are making them look subtle, making them look mild.
“They are terrorists, and we all know that these guys are an extension of Boko Haram. But because we want to give them a soft landing, we just call them bandits.
“They do worse than terrorists. They kill, maim, burn down houses, commit arson, rape, murder, they kidnap. What is terrorism? If they break any law bordering on terrorism, then they should be addressed as such and treated that way.
“But unfortunately, you see a situation where they are compensated, they are given money, invited for negotiations and discussions. I don’t have any other better word to describe them. They are terrorists and should be dealt with as terrorists. Government should not negotiate with terrorists.”
A security expert and former Field Commandant of Osun State Security Network Agency, Amotekun Corps, Comrade Amitolu Shittu said, “Insecurity is not a winning battle, but a management battle. It requires an element of force to suppress it to a minimal level. The insecurity task is a joint responsibility of both government and the society.
“As criminals recycle themselves, good-minded people, too, should recycle themselves. Society has to wake up because there are people who aid and abet crime and all the blame is put on government by attributing the problem to unemployment.”
He added, “The constitution has to address the situation because it is obvious that it is the same constitution that protects the law-abiding citizens that also protects criminals. Bandits and kidnappers, too, are enjoying the liberty of human rights and protected by human rights law.
“That is why if a criminal has a good lawyer, he can escape the hook if he is prosecuted. Therefore, the element of forces should be applied to deal with criminals and rescue their victims.”
“It’s only a fool that will negotiate with criminals. If you refuse to negotiate with them and they continue to lose out, they won’t be engaging in the crime or consider it as ‘business.’
“Lawyers, too, should be careful in standing for them for justice because they don’t deserve justice. Everything is not money. The late Gani Fawehinmi did not take up any robbery case to fight for justice for robbers. Criminals don’t deserve justice.”
Another security expert, Chidi Omeje, noted, “If you know the meaning of terrorism or terror, you will agree that those guys are terrorists. There is a way we classify them; we call them terror bandits, and that is for a purpose because we have different types of terrorists or terror groups in the country.
“You have the Boko Haram terrorists, the ISWAP terrorists, and the terror bandits. We classify them so that we will be able to know who they are. So, the president, I think, critically understands that the activities of those guys are equal to terrorism.
”For the media, if you are trying to classify these guys or differentiate these terrorist groups, the only way you can put a hand on them in the North-West and North-Central is to put the prefix ‘terror-bandits.’
”That makes them stand out from the other bandits that we know. But the fact that the president himself refers to them as terrorists goes to show that, indeed, the whole world recognises them as terrorists, because their activities are nothing short of terrorism.
