Zamfara State – At least 15 worshippers were killed when bandits opened fire at a mosque in Ruwan Jema town, Bukkuyum Local Government Area of Zamfara State. The attack happened during Jummah salaah. This comes three weeks after bandits attacked a mosque in the Zugu community, Gummi Local Government Area.
The attacks are part of a new wave of violence currently spreading through Nigeria. According to Imam Nma Shuaib, Nigerian based journalist at Daily Trust Abuja, this latest attack is a retaliation attack. The attacks come after the Nigerian army bombarded a bandit hideout.
“What happened on Friday, it might be as a result of an incident that happened last week. The Nigerian Army bombarded the hideout of the bandit. Their leader narrowly escaped … In that attack he was hosting people for a wedding ceremony. The reports are that he left the venue of the wedding ceremony to observe the afternoon prayers. The report is that what’s coming will be a retaliation attack. They are going to attack communities to show their anger because a lot of them were killed in that attack.”
The citizen’s safety is under threat as attacks by bandits are increasing
Experts in Nigeria have observed that fighting this insurgency is taking another dimension. The bandits and Boko Haram have decided to work together. This coalition is a great threat to the citizens of Nigeria, specifically those living in the rural areas. Boko Haram normally operate in the Northeast but have moved to the Northwest to collaborate with these bandits, explained Shuaib.
“What they do is that if the government gives them a serious fight, they resort to attacking vulnerable people like school children, innocent people in the community. By targeting these vulnerable people they’ll be an outcry within the nation and the pressure will be on the government to do something further. It’s a lot of concern and experts are warning the government that this new wave of violence is a result of the marriage between the Boko Haram and the bandits.”
Another concern for those living in the outskirts is the “tax” that they have been paying to the bandits. This tax is a payment made so that the bandits do not attack the villagers. Unfortunately, when this is not paid, the villager’s lives are at risk and the government is unable to provide help, explained Shuaib.
“These communities are periodically paying taxes to these bandits … When they cannot meet the payments, it leads to attacks. These are farming communities. They get their income through farming. If they’re unable to go to the farm, they are unable to meet their payments. The government really need to do more than what they are doing now to be able to protect these vulnerable communities from the bandit attacks.”
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What the government is doing and what they can do to stop these bandits
Experts have warned the coalition between Boko Haram and the bandits will cause an increase in attacks. It will only increase the strength of the two camps. The usual tactics by the government are no longer efficient and must be changed, said Shuaib.
“What the government does is they locate the bandits and attack them. Sometimes these bandits flee into the town or into the cities. Once the bombardment is over, they find their way back to the forest where they operate from.”
What the government needs to do is try and get someone who will inform them of when bandits enter the town. Be able to gather intelligence on them. The bandits have their own informants, explained Shuaib. Their job is to find out about what the government plans to do and relay it to the bandit leaders.
“It’s about intelligence also. Even though the government is doing well in terms of bombarding the forest, they also need to do a lot of things with regards to intelligence sharing. We need to be able to identify the next plan of action of the bandits. This has to be a collaborative effort between all security agencies like the police, the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Navy and Air Force so that at every point in time there is a network of information that is available and can be shared.”
For Shuaib, having the security agencies working together and gathering information together is a simple yet effective solution to getting rid of the bandits.
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The reason for the attacks on villagers
Boko Haram first emerged in 2009 to oppose the government. They were a strong group in the start, taking over many areas before being overpowered by the government. Their strongholds in the Northeast were decimated by the government, which is why they moved to the Northwest, said Shuaib. This is where they found the bandits. Their loss in strength has resulted in them attacking rural villages.
“The government is getting the upper hand over them. The only thing for them to do now is to resort to attacking vulnerable people within these villages. The idea is that if you attack these people the outcry from the public and experts will make the government feel bad. Like they are not making progress.”
Boko Haram’s numbers are slowly increasing because of the coalition with the bandits. They also have different camps and reports indicate they are in the thousands. At the moment they are also recruiting more people, said Shuaib.
Originally Boko Haram wanted Sharia law to come into place. However, currently no one knows what their demands are, said Shuaib. This makes bringing peace between them and the government a lot harder. This new collaboration between them and the bandits is dangerous for Nigeria as it could spark a new wave of deadly violence.
