Strong-willed Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufa’i, has repeatedly expressed his aversion to any form of pacification of bandits that infest his and many other neighbouring states. He recently warned ‘middlemen’ against negotiating with them and threatened to deal with anyone who does.
El-Rufa’i’s prescription is ideal, if not always practical. Negotiating with criminals is a sign of weakness. Paying ransom to kidnappers emboldens them and empowers them to kidnap more victims. The kidnap economy is already the fastest growing sector in Nigeria. Kidnapping continues to blossom in spite of unsolicited amnesty granted to bandits, cash and other rewards to so-called repentant bandits, and various kinds of overtures made to them.
Truly, as long as ransom is paid to kidnappers, the scourge will never end. Yet, a strong stance against payment of ransom should be accompanied by building of a very strong capacity of the security forces to rescue victims, apprehend culprits and stop the scourge in its tracks. This step should have been taken since 2012, when banditry first reared up its devilish head in Zamfara State. For now, Governor el-Rufai should rally his colleagues in the region into an innovative arrangement to strengthen the military and local security networks so that they can beat bandits once and for all.
The first challenge is how to exorcise our forests of bandits. These criminals have set up a parallel authority in territories that constitutionally belong to State, local governments, emirates and chiefdoms. We must recover them from the bandits. Security operatives should be trained to acquire the agility and skills as well as the logistics, weapons and hi-tech equipment to manouvre through the difficult terrains that have become money-minting enclaves for criminals.
In many states, unofficial security outfits such as vigilantes play prominent roles in counter-terrorism and anti-bandit measures. It is high time federal and state governments summon the political will to grant legitimacy to these foot soldiers. They possess the knowledge of local terrain, and quite often the commitment, that security agents often lack.
Inadequate security personnel is one of the major impediments in the fight against bandits and terrorists. Some local governments have less than 20 policemen. Many LGAs don’t have a single soldier stationed in them. El-Rufai’s idea that no ransom should be paid to and no negotiation should be made with bandits is a good one. In order for it to be viable however, the security agencies must demonstrate a capacity to combat banditry and rescue kidnap victims. Unless that is done, family members will feel compelled to negotiate and pay ransom.