Kebbi closes in on bandits

From Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin-Kebbi

Unending attacks by bandits in Kebbi State, particularly in Zuru and Yauri emirates, has made the state government to beef up its security architecture.  In the southern part of the state where the activities of the bandits are most notable, women, children and men have met their untimely deaths. The killers infiltrate the state from Zamfara and Niger states.

Challenged by this tragic fact, government elected to procure Toyota Land Cruiser cars and motorcycles for security personnel at the front line. This was to ensure that troops, counter terrorism police squads, vigilance groups and self-militia groups were duly empowered to chase the bandits out of their hideouts and bring them to their knees.

The Deputy Governor, Samaila Yombe Dabai, however, took the battle to another level. As a retired military officer, he decided to complement government’s anti-banditry efforts by bringing his automobile skills to use.

Instead of procuring Armour Personnel Carriers (APC) for front line military personnel in the open market, he re-assembled land cruiser cars to military vehicles. Sensing that soldiers and counter terrorist squads would need a strong and bullet-resistance APC, he mobilised roadside welders and trained them on how to dismantle newly bought vehicles.

They reassembled a resistance iron body for the carriers, fitting iron shields into them and turning them into locally made APCs. The deputy governor deployed his home at the Government Reserved Area (GRA) for the mechanic engineering, turning it into a fabricating workshop.

Dabai told Daily Sun it costs more than N10 million to purchase one of the vehicles in the open market. He said the state would have spent more if they were contracted out:

“One of the major fundamentals of security management is transportation; to have the capacity to move arms and ammunition and men to areas of combat at the fastest and safest possible conditions.

“The governor has been making efforts to provide a reliable means of transportation for our security agents at the front line. These are some of the vehicles he bought. I suggested to him, let us make these vehicles become sophisticated militarily, let us make them look like vehicles that can carry military weapons.

“We can change their civilian outlook to military outlook. These vehicles were bought as Land Cruiser, but we carried out certain fabrications that instantly transformed them to military vehicles.

“What we did here was to build them to carry military hard wares for drivers, for those inside and for those at the back of the vehicle by putting on armoured materials bearing in mind the weight they can carry.

“Toyota Land Cruiser has limited weight. If we were to put all armoured gadgets, it would not be able to carry combat mission with the engine.

“So we provided shields for the engine, the driver and soldiers at the back. At the end of the day, we painted the vehicle in a camouflage colour.

“We have so far reassembled five of them and we are going to work on another set of five in the coming days. These ones are going to be faster because we have already set up the template of reconstruction that is required to reassemble the vehicles.

“With these armoured vehicles, soldiers at the front line would be able to travel with deflated tyres for more than three hours more, a time enough for them to escape to safety or find a safer place to replace the affected tyres.

“The front rear of the vehicle was fabricated in such a way as to protect the engine of the vehicles from unnecessary bullet attack. The standing roof at the back of the vehicle was reconstructed to provide adequate protection for the truck-guns carriers.

“We bought these irons, removed what we don’t need from the Land Cruiser vehicles and rebuilt it to our taste.  We have re-fabricated five couriers within two weeks. We are going to do more five so that our soldiers at the front line can use it to battle criminals who are disturbing the peace of our state, and our country.”

Dabai, who declared his readiness to fabricate these vehicles for the Nigerian Army if contracted, said his vision for the state and Nigeria was to restore peace and stability to the country.

Commander, Education Corps, n Army, Major-General Muhammed Augie, who inspected the fabricated armoured vehicles commended the deputy governor for his foresight and efforts.