The Oasis Reporters

May 2, 2019

With the daring bandits kidnapping in large parts of Northern Nigeria now and with the latest foray into President Muhammadu Buhari’s hometown of Daura where on Wednesday night they abducted the Magajin Garin Daura, Musa Umar, in his Daura residence, the time for an X-ray into the vexed issue has come.

It was reliably gathered that Mr Umar, a retired customs comptroller, was abducted after observing the Magrib prayer.

The traditional ruler is the father of Fatima Musa, wife of Colonel Mohammed Abubakar, the Aide de Camp, ADC, to President Muhammadu Buhari.

This is happening because of the heightened boldness, brimming confidence and effrontery of the kidnappers.

Going back to start the analysis from recent 2015 history, it seemed that the rash of security challenges confronting Nigeria was going to overwhelm it. But then President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan quickly studied and got a leading handle to it. At least, going by the testimony of Sheikh Gumi who said in an interview that he received a complaint from a Fulani herdsman that the army was deswamping them from the bushes after a series of massacres they had allegedly carried out against Plateau, Kaduna and other Middle belt tribes that chilled the bones and made Nigerians cringe when the images appeared in the media.

Sheikh Gumi said he summoned an Army Captain of Fulani ethnicity to probe further into the allegation and the army officer gave a low down analysis of what was actually going on. The Sheikh had no option than to patriotically throw his weight behind his country, Nigeria.

Unfortunately for Jonathan, he lost the subsequent election and many Nigerians believed that a retired Army General would get a better handle on the security situation. They chose General Muhammadu Buhari. In four years, the kidnappers who many witnesses, former abductees who paid ransoms in millions of naira say, the kidnappers are well armed Fulani militia men, but largely of West African origin going by their accent.
When these bandits where killing middle belt Christians and taking over their villages and at the same time, sharing intimidating videos of their exploits and support for Fulani leaders, everyone knew that it was meant to cow the citizenry into helpless silence out of political fear.

Despite the snide cheers they got from some unthinking Nigerians, it was obvious that the chicken would soon come to roost, for even some Nigerian born Fulani natives have equally been kidnapped on the highways and forced to pay ransoms too, linguistic affinity or not.

There was another high profile kidnap too. It was that of the Buhari Support Group chairman and also Chairman of the fat budget UBEC, Dr. Mohammed Mahmoud Abubakar with his daughter who was visiting from abroad where she was educated.

A certain Abdullahi Sani claims in the online media that he has “listened to a disturbing audio of Dr Mohammed Mahmoud Abubakar, the kidnapped Chairman of UBEC with a facilitator discussing the urgency to pay the N** Million ransom as requested by his abductors.

In the clip, within the first 24hrs the sum of N**Million was raised while the Chairman was frantically making an appeal for the remaining balance of N**Million to be raised within one hour.
He was released but the inherent dangers is, if a ragtag bunch of idiots, illiterates can make for instance,N*0Million (without admitting that the amount is correct) in 48hrs I am afraid Dr. Mohammed is not the last victim of the kidnappers”.

The Oasis Reporters has neither seen nor listened to the audio clip and can therefore not vouch for it’s veracity nor affirm that any ransom, however small or inconsequential was paid to free the two. (Hence the figures, two figures in millions quoted were deleted).

However, the speed of the abduction and subsequent freedom does lend credence to the fact that something gave, and studying the modus operandi of the Kidnap Economy operators and the testimonies of ransomed captives, definitely something gave. And whatever gave must have been substantial.

Testimonies abound too, that those who were unable to pay the ransom were shot, and bodies dumped in a nearby stream of water, according to a witness.

The question is, why has this issue not been given the extra attention it needs to free Nigerians from this growing banditry being perpetrated by alleged foreign Fulani tribesmen from upper West Africa?
Why has Nigeria remained so helpless in this wanton rape and pain ?

Have the authorities analyzed the wider implications of these ragtag kidnapping bands collecting millions of naira daily from helpless Nigerians who can now not farm or engage in businesses because of these security challenges?

What is all the billions of naira the kidnappers keep accumulating going in for?
At least we have not heard of palaces or mansions being built in Guinea, Mali, Senegal, The Gambia, etc known as some of the homelands to these bandits.
Or will their money extorted from hapless Nigerians be used to fund another more ruthless insurgency than Boko Haram?

What has been done or being done to stop it before it is too late?

As a layman, I’d like to suggest a possible solution that experienced security experts can improve and build upon.

Barr Mike Ozulumba wrote that
“You can’t police an entire length of a Highway. The technology needed to combat such highway robbery is not present. It requires constant use of drones in high or low level flight altitudes to detect and destroy the robbery operations. It also means that both night vision drones web technology should be deployed. The command centers will be strategically located for efficient response. There are armed drones that could be deployed for preemptive strikes against the marauders. It also means that road blocks cannot be erected on the road by military or police or Airforce etc. The drones can relay photos or videos of vehicles of interest and patrol teams can shadow and stop them at designated locations. Highways should be repaired such that vehicular movement will not be impeded. If we can execute 60% of this suggestion,we will be on way to eliminate or drastically reduce highway robbery and kidnapping.”

But then, we know that in Sweden, Cyprus and many other countries, you cannot overspeed on the Highways without being booked when you get home. There will be a ticket waiting for you, whereas there was no policeman sighted. It means that electronic gadgets are watching everyone.
Some chaps went to rob a Bureau de Change in the UAE. They did not escape the hidden cameras.
Why can’t Nigeria do the same?

If the Senate can vote $1 billion to wage war against the Boko Haram insurgency, surely Nigeria can go high tech in security issues.

One of the ransomed abductees recently said that an airforce jet overflew their location in the bush between Kaduna and Abuja. It flew low. Suddenly the kidnappers marshalled out all their captives, and with automatic weapons pointed at them, daring the jet to do anything stupid. The captives themselves waved at the airforce jet to just go away.
And it did.

It means that the security forces know who and where these hostage takers are. It is now obvious to the discerning why specific action has not been taken to stop this menace.

There is the belief that satellite technology, drones, the Airforce and ground forces can end this menace once and for all to send the irritating West Africans back to their homeland. Nigeria must not be their hunting ground.

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