After testing the waters to gauge the stuff the Bola Tinubu administration is made of and realising its fickleness, Islamic terrorists, and their confederates – the bandits – are stamping their violent imprints on Nigeria again. Within the past week, Boko Haram insurgents and bandits have successfully abducted over 404 Nigerians across three North-East and North-West states. This is unparalleled and ominous for the rest of the fragile country. For the President, it calls for a swift re-evaluation of the subsisting national security strategies, which appear ineffective against the hordes from hell perpetrating this criminality.
Indeed, it is the familiar Salafist modus operandi all-over again: The predation on women, pupils, and other soft targets. Fifteen pupils of an Islamiya school in Sokoto State were kidnapped in the early hours of Saturday. This is less than 72 hours after 287 schoolchildren were abducted from the LEA Primary School in Kuriga, in the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
A few days before the Kaduna incident, over 200 female internally displaced persons were forcefully taken away by terrorists in three IDP camps in Borno State. The women were kidnapped in Ngala, the headquarters of Gamboru Ngala, while fetching firewood in the bush to sell.
Penultimate Thursday, bandits abducted an undisclosed number of people in the Gonin-Gora community in the same Chikun LGA in Kaduna State, prompting residents to barricade the Kaduna-Abuja Expressway in protest.
The mass abductions signal a return to the Muhammadu Buhari (2015-2023) era when bandits raided communities and schools at will. The Tinubu administration must double down and prevent this from becoming entrenched again. Beyond ordering the security forces to rescue the abductees, the Federal Government should demonstrate an iron resolve to end mass kidnappings once and for all.
Data indicates that about 1,548 schoolchildren have been abducted in 11 separate incidents of mass abduction by terrorists and bandits in northern Nigeria between April 2014 and June 2021.
Since the initial incident, which was the abduction of 276 schoolgirls from their dormitories in Chibok, Borno State, on April 14, 2014, without any serious consequences, the Salafists have become bolder.
They have since then raided the Bethel Baptist Secondary School, UBE Rama Primary School, Government Science Secondary School, and Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, all in Kaduna State. At Government Girls Secondary School in Zamfara State, 317 schoolgirls were kidnapped.
Also, 300 students at Government Science Secondary School in Kankara, Katsina State, were abducted on December 11, 2020. This coincided with a visit to his Katsina country home by the then president, Buhari. As well, 72 students at Government Science College, Kagara, in Niger State and several others were stolen by bandits. Most of the incidents took place during night-time hours and the victims were taken into the forest, with the negotiations facilitated by third parties.
The mass abduction of students had also taken place at Government Girls Secondary School in Dapchi, Yobe State, where 113 girls were whisked away on February 19, 2018. The girls were later released, while a few died. One of them, Leah Sharibu, is still with the Islamists after refusing to renounce her Christian faith.
About 17 students at the Greenfield University were kidnapped by bandits in Kaduna State in April 2021. The bandits killed five of the students and released the remaining 14, who were held captive for more than a month. The families of the victims admitted to paying over N100 million in ransom before the students were released.
No fewer than 169 pupils of Salihu Tanko Islamic School, Tegina, Niger State, were equally abducted on May 30, 2021, amongst several other mass abductions which have exposed the nation’s ineffectual security system, leaving the authorities red-faced with shame.
In 2022, bandits violently hijacked the Abuja-Kaduna train. They bombed the train twice, leading to the death of seven passengers. They abducted 62 of the 917 passengers, who were released months later after the payment of ransom.
A report by SBM Intelligence said Nigerians paid $387,179 or N302 million as ransom for kidnapping between July 2022 and June 2023.
Since assuming office in May, the current administration has made reassuring noises about going after the terrorists and bandits and their collaborators, but no concrete steps have been taken and no reassuring results have been seen to prove that the government is on top of the situation or that it is doing better than its predecessor in protecting Nigerians. It is disingenuous of officials to claim that security has improved under Tinubu when the mass abductions of citizens are occurring every other day.
The failure of the government to prosecute Boko Haram suspects and their collaborators is a clear sign that the assurances of the government on the security situation cannot be taken seriously. Clearly, the Tinubu administration has not walked its talk on addressing the security crisis in the country. The government can surely do better.
The Federal Government, as part of efforts to keep the country secure, disbursed N231.27 billion to procure arms and ammunition for security agencies and officers between 2020 and 2024. This is beside the yearly budgets of the Ministry of Defence and eight other forces between 2020 and 2022 put at N11.72 billion, N10.78 billion and N9.64 billion, respectively.
More recently, in the fourth quarter of 2023, the government procured N5 trillion worth of tanks and armoured fighting vehicles for the security forces, per the NBS report ‘Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics.’ This is in addition to other security hardware. Security agencies must justify this huge investment by preventing abductions and other criminal acts through proactive surveillance and intelligence operations and active inter-agency coordination and collaboration.
Experts said addressing mass abductions requires a multifaceted approach that involves short-term and long-term strategies. The government should prioritise improving security infrastructure and intelligence capabilities to prevent abductions from occurring in the first place. Deploying security forces to vulnerable areas, increasing surveillance, and implementing checkpoints along known routes used by abductors can go a long way in checking the situation.
The authorities need to investigate abduction cases promptly and bring perpetrators to justice. This involves enhancing the capacity of law enforcement agencies, including training personnel, improving coordination between different security agencies, and ensuring consequences for those involved in abductions.
Since many of these security challenges transcend national borders, international cooperation is crucial. The Nigerian government should work with regional and international partners to share intelligence, coordinate efforts to combat transnational criminal networks and help in addressing the root causes of insecurity.
Corruption and governance failures have been known to exacerbate security challenges by undermining the effectiveness of law enforcement and perpetuating social inequality. Therefore, the government should prioritise efforts to combat corruption, improve governance, and ensure accountability to build trust and confidence in state institutions.
Crucially, the establishment of state police forces can play a significant role in deterring mass abductions through proactive patrol and presence in vulnerable areas, such as rural communities, highways, and border regions. Their visible presence can deter potential abductors and provide a sense of security to the local population. Community policing initiatives can also empower communities to take proactive measures to enhance their security.
By implementing these measures in a comprehensive and coordinated manner, the government can work towards preventing and addressing mass abductions, thereby enhancing the safety and security of the citizens.
