The rampage and carnage visited by bandits on some communities particularly in Zamfara and Katsina states, among others, would make any woman not have any idea on how to benefit from such atrocities, given that women are usually at the receiving end. They are raped, made widows and orphans to carry the trauma to their graves due to the gravity of the experience.
In order to curtail the activities of these marauding criminals after many peace efforts have failed, the government of Zamfara State banned mobile networks to prevent the bandits from communicating.
Then, not long after the Katsina State government banned mobile networks in 13 local government areas of the state last month as well.
The affected local government areas include: Sabuwa, Faskari, Dandume, Batsari, Danmusa, Kankara, Jibia, Safana, Dutsin-Ma and Kurfi. These local governments are on the fringes of the Ruggu forest, which is a hub of the murderous bandits.
Other local government areas affected are Funtua, Bakori and Malumfashi.
Mobile charging points were also banned in 19 out of the 34 local government areas of the state.
This came barely a week after the government banned weekly cattle markets, closed Jibia – Zurmi and Sheme – Yankara roads, and outlawed sale of fuel in jerry cans, among other security measures.
In any case, instead of everybody and all women welcoming these drastic measures, some are in fact using dubious means to sell petrol to the bandits, they even risk taking it there.
When the news came out that three female members of a syndicate were arrested by the operatives of the Katsina State Police Command for supplying petrol to the bandits in a forest, people were saying, “Women? May God help us.”
Spokesperson of the State Police Command, SP Gambo Isah, who paraded the suspects at the command headquarters on Thursday, September 23, said they were arrested by a team of policemen on patrol along Katsina–Jibia road.
The suspects are Dija Umar, 50; Ummah Bello, 45; and Nusaiba Muhammad, 16, all of Malali Quarters, in Katsina Local Government Area of the state.
“The fact of the case is, the syndicate was arrested by a team of policemen on patrol along Katsina – Jibia road, concealing PMS in their travelling bags neatly, reasonably suspected to be supplies to the bandits hibernating in the fringes of Jibia forest,” he said.
In another story, one woman was also paraded among other suspects by the Katsina State Police Command who was said to be the widow of a late bandits’ commander, known as ‘Shamandaji’.
According to SP Isah, the woman was caught with 150 pieces of an illicit injection in the Dandume local government area of the state while on her way to supply bandits in the forest.
Even though women were known to belong to armed robbery gangs where they carry guns, or pretend to be sick on a deserted road to get sympathy from motorists who eventually fall victim, for them to help in the perpetuation of banditry in their communities is beyond
comprehension. Because where those in armed robbery are not doing it in their communities, these ones are.
Few days ago, a young girl knocked at my door, I went out and she said she was distributing a magazine on devotional prayer. I declined, but I got thinking about how she came inside the estate. I then remembered there are pastors in the estate and that she might have been sent by one of them.
However, one of the residents raised the issue and said in Lagos such a way was used to send armed robbers to people. It was resolved not to allow such a thing again for security reasons.
While some women are gullible, some schemes like die- hard criminals, you would wonder; are these women, who are supposed to nurture life, family, have compassion? Who are not supposed to have criminal intention to harm anybody, much less collaborate with murderous criminals, are these women who are supposed to be called mothers fondly because they are bestowed by nature to be called so?
Some people may say these women went into it because of poverty, but how can you help a murderer, a rapist, someone that has prevented people from going to their farms, schools and made thousands to become Internally Displaced Persons just to get some money? You cannot be sure you are safe from them.
It is a shame and they should not be spared. It also shows that the government and security agencies have a lot of work because of the informants and collaborators embedded within the communities.
