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It was the Judgement by Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court Abuja,which declared the bandits as terrorists, last week, that suddenly changed the initially conceived title for this column. l had commenced fleshing the the title , “The Sins of the Bandits.” .
The column was to start by meandering from the genesis of banditry and would have help the reader form an opinion on whether it was appropriately jusfified for the federal government to pay a deaf ear to the numerous calls demanding that these bandits be decleared as terrorists. As if the federal government’s “monitoring spirit” was around my closet. However, the recent pronouncement by Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court Abuja following an Ex-parte motion filed by the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Justice ruled that activities of bandits, as well as other similar groups, by whatever names they are called, in any part of the country, amounted to acts of terrorism and subsequently declared them terrorists. By this unique judgement, many Nigerians must have heaved a sigh of relief. I can hear their exclamation ,” At last!”.
By this pronouncement, Nigeria can now boast of habouring three terrorist groups. Boko Haram, The Bandits and the government personally declared terrorists known as the lndependent People of Biafra ( IPOB). Out of the three, only one is not known to be so armed but has a controlling influence on the South Eastern part of the country , either because they believe in their cause or because the leaders of the group have used fear as the instrument of psychological suppression and subjection, so the people obediently adhere to every instruction. Like the “Sit At Home” order that gets over ninety per cent compliance. Unfortunately, the subtle introduction of the “Unknown Gun men” made the story of IPOB members look like the voice of Jacob while the dangerous hand of Esau is noticeable everywhere.
This gave rise to the government stand that the group was dangerous and need to be proscribed. A country faced with such situation cannot progress politically, economically, agriculturally and innfrastructurally. There would surely be stagnated as we presently observe in the country. The cost of agricultural products are daily on the increase, there are no job opportunities to absorb the growing number of unemployed graduates and college drop-outs. Majority of whom are ready made tools of easy recruitment for these terrorist groups.
Available record shows that in Zamfara state alone there are over 30,000 bandits and 100 camps. Also Boko Haram recruited thousands of unemployed youth in the North Eastern part of the country by enticing them with 200 dollars. Only recently, the former President Olusegun Obasanjo warned about the rising population of unemployed Northern youths whom he describe as ready made tools for terrorists. The question is, must Obasanjo utter those wise evaluation before the government would reverse and do the needful in creating job opportunities for unemployed youths who are either fleeing the country or indulging in various type of criminality like kidnapping, yahoo-yahoo, thuggery and others. The delay in declaring the bandits as terrorists helped in the early clamor by Nigerians not to resoundingly appreciate the recent court declaration which looks like a government’s well packaged Christmas gift to Nigerians. These bandits simply vicious and destructive. So, they are now easy target for elimination by any of our security agencies. Interestingly, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami said it would now embolden the federal government to go all out to crush all forms of banditry in the country.
Truely, it is not the name dressing that is important , be they “Yan Bindiga, Yan Ta’adda or any other groups, what Nigerians know, is that there is an illegally armed group that had been terrorizing them in their farmland, markets, schools and other government institutions. That it took all these years before a Daniel came to judgement despite all the recorded atrocities of these bandits. They are bandits. That it took the federal government over five years to approach the court speaks volume. These group apart from being vicious, illegally acquired firearms which is contrary to the law of the land. The group forcefully kidnap innocent citizens and demand for huge ransom. As at the last count, these unpatriotic group had attacked over fifteen educational institutions including the Federal University, in the federal Capital including the Military Academy in Kaduna state.
Among the long list of heinous crime committed against the citizens and the country, includes the shotting down of a military plane in the northern part of the country. Killing of over a hundred kidnapped students from various schools and raping many others. They raid markets for food stuff and also attack security amoury to replenish their arsenal. Even when they overrun local governments in Zamfara and Niger States and were forcefully collecting illegal taxes, the Federal government looked the other way as if activities were not grievous enough. Justice Taiwo also held that the federal government must publish the order in the official Gazette and two national dailies in the country.
Many have been wondering, if the activities of lPOB could in a twinkle of an eye attract such vehement reaction from the Federal government, how justified is it, that members of the Niger Delta militants who are armed to their teeth with very sophisticated rifles and had severally brought the country down to its kneels economically, since 2008, had blown pipelines carrying oil and had severally kidnapped and killed, yet they have never been proscribed nor tagged to be terrorists.
Justice should not have double face when prescribing the tablet of justice on issues that have no similarity or resemblance in activities.
Terrorists operate uniquely almost with the same cardinal objectives, which are to instill fear among members of the society, they terrorise the people and even the government by killing and destroying personal and government properties. Although the bandits were not originally named bandits. They inherited the toga sequel to the misfortunes of the Fulani herdsmen whose original routes of operation and business were overtaken and disrupted by developments and modernity thereby displacing them , their cattle and families. The anger arisen from this major displacement, propelled them into the act of banditry ? Their resolve to be offensive in their bid to retaliate , they illegally started procuring sophisticated firearms from fleeing Boko Haram members who were displaced by Nigerian soldiers. Apart from accessing firearms from Boko Haram members, and were joined by their distant kinsmen from Senega, Mali , Niger and Chad by offering them an open invitation. They invaded and occupied forests in Zamfara,Yobe, Kaduna and Niger States and even recruited the indigenes. They used these forests as lunch pad to perpetrate criminal atrocities around the country leaving trails of blood tears and pain among innocent citizens. It is now the turn of our gallant military to completely eliminate them from our land.
