Thousands of residents of Gobir in Sokoto State, North-West Nigeria, have stormed the forests to confront terrorists – locally dubbed as bandits and rescue their abducted fellow residents, citing the continuous failure of the security forces.
The residents comprising men and women reportedly embarked on the mission aiming to rescue 150 kidnapped compatriots and to also recover the remains of the slain district head of Gobir, Isa Mohammad Bawa.
Last week, the Sarkin Gobir of Gatawa District in Sokoto State, Alhaji Isa Muhammad Bawa was brutally killed by terrorists after being abducted, tortured, and dehumanised.
Few days after the traditional ruler’s gruesome murder, terrorists attacked Gobir town and abducted over 150 mourners, according to Prof. Bello Bada of the Usman Dan Fodio University Sokoto.
The kidnapping cases were recorded between when the late emir was killed and Friday last week.
“We’re not aware of the kidnapping of 150 people in the Gobir Emirate of Sokoto State,” the spokesperson for the Sokoto State Police Command, ASP Ahmed Rufai, dismissed the claim.
However, in a viral video, thousands of residents of Gobir could be seen trooping into the forest chanting war songs, invoking the name of “Allah”.
“It’s fight to finish! Its either us or them (bandits), no going back,” they chanted.
Insecurity and violence in Nigeria
For more than a decade, civilians in Nigeria have faced multiple security threats and risk of atrocities as result of attacks, kidnappings and extortion by various non-state armed groups.
Since the start of 2024 civilians have faced intensified violence across Nigeria, and near-daily attacks by armed groups resulting in kidnappings and other abuses against civilians.
Armed groups and gangs, including so-called “bandits,” have – for many years – perpetrated widespread atrocities, including murder, rape, kidnapping, organized cattle-rustling and plunder. Armed herdsmen are also destroying vast swaths of farmland, prompting many farmers to abandon their land out of fear of attack.
A Nigerian soldier, Suleiman S., had alleged that the government’s practice of paying ransoms terrorists – dubbed as bandits in the country was hindering the military’s ability to effectively combat them.
He urged the public to redirect their blame from the Nigerian Army to the government, emphasising that soldiers are constrained by orders and cannot take independent action.
The soldier said the military has the capability to eradicate bandits, particularly in hotspots like Zamfara State forest within a week if given the necessary orders.
He expressed frustration that the military’s potential is being wasted due to a lack of direction from leadership, whom he accused of profiting from the ongoing crisis.
He cited the assassination of the monarch, Alhaji Isa Muhammad Bawa as an example of a coordinated plan by certain individuals or groups to perpetuate insecurity.