Many parts of northwest Nigeria have been laid to waste by what are euphemistically known as “bandits”. Last week 32 people were killed in a mosque during prayers in Katsina State, the home state of former president Muhammadu Buhari.
In the Batsari Local Government Area of the state some locals have – via a mediator – arranged a truce with bandit leaders, as highlighted by a report by Al Jazeera journalist Ahmed Idris, who went into the bushes to speak to the bandits. This type of reporting is alien within the Nigerian media.
The report revealed the confusion in terms of who these gangs are. Some herd cattle, while one of the gang leaders said they are involved in illegal gold mining. There have been reports of the existence of gold in significant quantities in Katsina and neighbouring Zamfara State, involving these gangs, senior government officials, military top brass and foreign mining firms, with unconfirmed reports of planes landing and taking off with large quantities of gold from undisclosed airstrips.
The crisis from banditry has become full-blown over the past 10 years, with the last six years seen as the worst. Government failure has made a complex situation worse by missing opportunities to deal effectively with it. About 2,000 people have been killed in just the first six months of this year, with millions of dollars paid to kidnappers in ransom.
While this truce has brought some temporary respite to locals, the attacks continue elsewhere. The deputy governor Faruk Lawal Jobe told Al Jazeera that they won’t negotiate with terrorists. In the absence of an effective response from the security agencies, the storm of banditry will continue after the uneasy calm.
