By Babs Oyetoro, with additional report
A former Chief of Army Staff (CoAS), Gen Theophilus Danjuma (retd), has charged military top brass led by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen Christopher Musa, to end banditry and killings as soon as possible.
The octogenarian retired army chief gave the charge yesterday in Abuja during the presentation of Maj-Gen Solomon Udounwa (retd) ‘s book, ‘Big Boots: Lessons from my military service.’
Addressing serving and retired military top brass including the current defence chief seated at the event, Danjuma said the onus rested on serving officers to end the menace of banditry and senseless killings by marauders all over the country.
The former COAS said, “We must end the banditry and the killings that are going on in our country as soon as possible. The responsibilities are on the shoulders of you who are still in service. No excuses, absolutely no excuses. God bless you. God bless our country.”
In response, the CDS said the Armed Forces won’t be deterred by the challenges confronting them in the fight against banditry and terrorism.
Musa assured Danjuma that the military would not fail to bring the blood-sucking mongers called bandits to their knees.
He said, “The Armed Forces of Nigeria is willing, dedicated, and committed to restoring peace and security in our dear country.
“We shall not be deterred. We have learnt so much from your records. We cannot afford to fail, and we will not fail.”
Nigeria’s North-West and North Central geopolitical zones have been a hotbed of dark-hearted marauders known colloquially as bandits.
A recent report by security intel gathering firm SBM Intelligence showed that Nigerians paid ₦1.04bn as ransom to kidnappers in the last year.
The firm said its research found that within the period under review, no fewer than 7,568 people were abducted in 1,130 incidents across the country.
“In that same period, kidnappers demanded at least the sum of ₦10,995,090,000 (approximately $6,871,931) as ransom but received ₦1,048,110,000, a mere 9.5% of the money demanded, indicating that kidnappers have become less targeted in their victimology.
Of the 1,130 reported kidnapping cases, Zamfara, Kaduna, and Katsina have the highest numbers of incidents and victims.
