The security forces may need to investigate the root of the sudden upsurge in killings and abductions, following fresh incidents on Saturday in Sokoto State.
It comes as women at a meeting on Friday night groaned and wept loudly, calling for God’s protection for kidnapped students, and judgment for kidnappers and those backing them, on a national prayer altar meeting on zoom. The National Prayer Altar with meeting ID 968 0619 0505 holds nightly according to one of its leaders.
Analysts have suggested that the bandits are looking to make money for the Ramadan season through ransoms, but others fear there is a deeper reason.
One of them, Polycarp Gbaja, still troubled by the continuing silence of the authorities over the scores of students abducted from a school in Kaduna (some estimates put the figure at 280) on Thursday wrote angrily on Saturday: “Some 280 students and teachers abducted and marched on foot, in broad daylight at 8.30am?!
“This is condemnable, embarassing and unacceptable.
“Kutiga is 40 minutes to one hour to Kaduna Air Force Base and the GOC 1 Div HQ Kawo Kaduna.
“There is more than enough air and ground power to have been scrambled to go after these already well known terrorists. Same terrorists who have attacked military and civilians, with total impunity, in the past three years and more.
“Kaduna has over 15 security agencies, combat and Intel units domiciled strategically. How were they caught so flatfooted?
“Mr. President and Executive Governor Kaduna State, the demand of your constitutional task here is simple, even if not easy:
1. Rescue immediately these defenceless citizens, under your care and duty, as your primary mandate.
2. Neutralize the dastardly crew of terrorists, including their camps in Shiroro, Birnin Gwari and other sites in the Kaduna and Niger States axis.
Nigerians expect no less, Sirs.”
On Friday, Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, also called on State Governors and lawmakers to prescribe capital punishment for kidnapping.
She described as heart rending, the act of kidnapping innocent children.
At a meeting with the National Women Leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the State House, Abuja, she described the kidnappers as cowards for going after women and children.
“They are cowards. Our hearts bleed. I call on the state governments that once we take hold of them, they deserve capital punishment. Why can’t they take men of their size, why are they touching women and children…. What they are doing is that they are trying to kill our future, we all know that when parents are old, we rely on our children, we see them as our investments that have not gone to a waste especially when they are successful.
“Why will you now take them from their schools? Right now, I think enough is enough. As a former lawmaker, I believe that any one of them captured deserves capital punishment.
“I believe most mothers will support me on this because we carry our children for nine months, and we cannot watch what we love wither away.”
The bandits in Sokoto, according to the Daily Trust, reportedly kidnapped an unspecified number of Tsangaya students at Gidan Bakuso in Gada local government area of Sokoto state.
Its reporter gathered that the students were abducted from their school around 1a.m. on Saturday.
The propiretor of the school, Liman Abubakar, said that 15 students were unaccounted so far but “we are still counting.”
According to Abubakar, the bandits invaded the town around 1a.m., shot one person and abducted a woman.
“As they were leaving the town, they sighted our students rushing into their rooms and they kidnapped many of them.
“We have so far counted 15 who are missing and we are still searching for more,” he said
Abubakar added that this was not the first time the village was attacked by bandits.
The member, representing Gada-East Constituency at the state House of Assembly, Kabiru Dauda, while confirming the attack, said he received a call from the village around 2 a.m. that it was invaded by bandits.
“I reached out to the local government authorities and security agencies and I am sure they are doing something about it,” he said.
It was also gathered that bandits attacked and killed three persons at Turba village in Isa Local Government Area of the state, including the village head.
A member representing, Isa Constituency, Habibu Modachi who confirmed the incident, believed it was a reprisal after security operatives raided bandits’ hideouts two days ago.
The spokesman of the Sokoto State Police Command, ASP Ahmad Rufa’i, said he was not aware of the development but he would contact the Divisional Police Officer of the local government areas and get back.
Daily Trust reported that the attack came at a time the state is witnessing the passing out of its Community Guards Corps, the initiative of the state government aimed at curtailing banditry.
● Additional report by Daily Trust.