By Adetokunbo Abiola

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In the north-central Niger state, assailants attacked Muya local government area (LGA) on Tuesday morning, killing 14 people and abducting seven women. The bandits invaded one of the communities around 2am, set the houses ablaze, burnt the people in their rooms while some of the attackers were standing outside. Those trying to escape were caught and slaughtered. A police spokesperson confirmed the incident but said he had no further details. After the raid in Kachiwe village, the assailants went to two more communities nearby, killing two people they saw on their way before killing 16 more residents.
Violent attacks by the assailants known locally as bandits are common across the northwest and central parts of Nigeria, but many say since their destruction is colossal, they should be treated as terrorists. The gangs target schools, kidnapping students and schoolchildren to squeeze ransom from authorities and parents. Authorities have said that special military operations targeted at restoring peace in the affected states have been yielding results, with dozens of the assailants often killed when their hideouts in abandoned forest reserves are bombarded. Alongside the telecommunications blackout, northern states have also imposed tight restrictions on movement and trade to try and control the gunmen, who many believe should be seen as terrorists.
The Senate asked President Muhammadu Buhari to, as a matter of urgency, declare bandits as terrorists and wage a total war against them. The lawmakers also urged the president to immediately declare all known leadership of the bandits wanted, and track them wherever they are for arrest and prosecution. They asked Mr. Buhari to order the military “to eliminate them by bombing their hideouts.” These were some of the resolutions taken by lawmakers after a deliberation on a motion on the activities of bandits in Sokoto State – sponsored by Ibrahim Gobir (APC, Sokoto East).
His motion comes barely a day after bandits killed at least 20 people and abducted others in Gatawa, a village in Sabon Birni Local Government Area of the state, in a behavior seen by many as terrorism. The deadly attack came barely 24 hours after another in Gangara, in the same local government area. A local resident, Bashir Gobir, said his younger sister was among those kidnapped. An anonymous source said the attack was one of the most horrendous. They came on motorcycles and started shooting sporadically. They went from house to house checking for food and other things but they also killed 20 people during the attack.
Saaron commented on the issue in Nigeria’s premier blog, Nairaland, saying bandits such as these should be called terrorists and be treated as such.
“These are the terrorists,” he wrote. “There’s no day in Nigeria today that people are not kidnapped, attacked, murdered and slaughtered by imported Fulani terrorist invaders. Unless the rest of Nigeria detach from terrorist-ridden north, violence and genocide against indigenous people will continue.”
In Ondo State, the activities of bandits also look suspiciously like terrorist activities. A commercial bus with 18 passengers was attacked by some bandits along Ido Ani-Ifira Expressway, Ondo State in September. The bus headed towards Abuja from Lagos State when it was attacked. The bandits dragged the victims into the bush to an unknown destination. A few days later, monarchs, council chairmen and other stakeholders in the Northern senatorial district, Ondo State raised the alarm over the invasion of criminals from border towns to perpetrate crimes in their communities. The Northern Senatorial district in the state consists of six local government councils and is notorious for all sorts of banditry including kidnapping, raping, killings, robberies and other crimes.
“At this rate it won’t be long before bandits start sacking state govt. And some people are sitting comfortably
in Abuja while the country is on fire,” said Starz 100 on Nairaland.
Many believe dialogue, negotiation, ransom payments, amnesty and integration of repentant bandits into the army and society are not the solution. They will only serve as the internal seeds of destruction of the army in its efforts against terrorism. And, in their view, any attempt to integrate “repentant” terrorists in the army will expose the military and security architecture to intelligence and operational compromises.
Adejuwon Soyinka is the regional editor of online platform, The Conversation.
“Government has the responsibility to provide genuine leadership in the war,” he said. “The statement credited recently to the army chief that the crisis can only be stopped by Nigerians, thus passing the buck to civilians, is irresponsible. It’s only the armed forces that have the arsenals and training to fight Boko Haram and other such groups.”
Some say to guard against possible excesses and abuse, people in these structures must be properly trained, equipped and supervised to take the war against terrorirsts and not just bandits. The way forward, then, is the development of grassroots policing, enriched by local personnel and intelligence. Chukwuma Al Okoli is a Lecturer/Resident Researcher Department of Political Science, Federal University Lafia.
“The success of the Civilian Joint Task Forse, comprising local vigilantes and volunteer neighbourhood watchers, in combating the Boko Haram insurgency in the lower Lake Chad Basin shows the possible value of this sort of community policing,” he wrote
If bandits are seen as terrorists, they say, the success recorded against Boko Haram insurgents will also be accomplished against them.