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.
Matthew Onocheta
SOKOTO, Nigeria – Terrorists – locally dubbed as bandits in Nigeria reportedly attacked Garki community in Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State on Sunday night.
The bandits reportedly opened fire on unsuspecting residents, killing three people on the spot.
Several other residents of the area were reportedly abducted and taken away by the terrorists, their fate currently remains unknown, according to local broadcaster, TVC News.
Police could not be reached for comment.
Bandits have launched ceaseless and brutal attacks on parts of Sokoto, a North-Western state.
The spate of attacks recently culminated in the execution of the Sarkin Gobir of Gatawa District in Sokoto State, Alhaji Isa Muhammad Bawa, after being abducted, tortured, and dehumanised by the blood-thirsty terrorists.
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.
Last week, thousands of residents of Gobir stormed the forests to confront terrorists and rescue their abducted fellow residents, citing the continuous failure of the security forces.
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.