Sounds of freedom from bandits what is banditry and how it all started. Banditry is used to refer to acts of robbery and violence in areas where the rule of law has broken down. in Nigeria Insecurity in Northern Nigeria and its liberation Despite government efforts, the security situation in Nigeria is deteriorating. Indeed, the lingering conflict between herders and farmers in north-central Nigeria has been rated ten times deadlier than the Boko Haram insurgency.
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The recent abductions of schoolboys in Kankara community, Katsina State, and Niger State are more examples of the deplorable state of security in the country. Notably, the unprecedented increase in violent attacks is defying the sustained narrative among analysts that the northwest is relatively peaceful compared to the northeast—even though the northwest is poorer; worse governed in some areas, and has lower levels of human development.
Sounds of freedom from bandits
Poor governance, poverty, and climate change causes of insecurity in africa
Banditry violence has affected populations living in Nigeria’s Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Katsina states in the northwest. About 21 million people living in these states have been exposed to insecurity from the activities of bandits. Unconnected to the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast, the banditry violence began as a farmer/herder conflict in 2011 and intensified between 2017 to 2018 to include cattle rustling, kidnapping for ransom, sexual violence, and killings. The violence has affected about 35 out of 92 local government areas in the 4 states. The discovery of gold mines and the activities of illegal miners competing for the control of gold reserves have served to further intensify the existence and activities of armed groups in the northwest. By March 2020, more than 210,000 people have been internally displaced.? More than 35,000 refugees have crossed communal borders to Maradi in the Niger Republic by the beginning of March 2020. These refugees are hosted in Madaou in the Tahoua region, Dan Dadji Makaou, Garin Kaka, and Guidan Roumdji.?
bandits northern Nigeria
Controversial peace agreements between some state governments and criminal groups. In an attempt to stop these attacks, and due to larger failures on the part of the federal government, the state governments of Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara initiated direct negotiations with these criminal groups. As part of these negotiations, the governors offered the criminal groups amnesties and
other incentives to end violent attacks. Some have even agreed to release all arrested persons from
such groups in exchange for hostages. So far, these agreements have failed for a nu
mber of reasons: First, these criminal groups lack central command and a common goal, so it has been difficult to bring them all to a common negotiation.
Porous Nigeria-west Africans borders and difficult terrain. Nigeria’s border with Niger and other west Africa countries and is poorly policed by the Nigeria Nigeria military personnel’s. Police officers Customs and Immigration Services. The porous nature of these borders heightens the potential spread of terrorist activities into northwest Nigeria from Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. The vulnerability of the border to the infiltration of terror groups is compounded by the forest reserves in the region. The vast, rugged terrain, sparse population, and dense vegetation make surveillance difficult—making the forests ideal hiding places and operational bases for the terror groups. Furthermore, the forested landscape constitutes ungoverned spaces, where the presence of the authorities is either nonexistent or, at best, sporadic.
Arms and weapons trafficking. The groups terrorizing northwest Nigeria are known to deploy sophisticated weapons in their operations; again, often due to the porous Nigeria-Niger border
and subsequent arms trafficking. The illicit proliferation of weapons exerts a considerable impact on peace and security and increases the incidence of terrorist activities in the region.
Poor governance, poverty, and climate change-fragility nexus. In many instances, the rising incidents of violent attacks are symptoms of weak, exclusionary, or exploitative governance systems in northwest Nigeria. Compounding factors include weak institutional capacity within the police; extreme inequality, poverty, unemployment; and citizens’ alienation from the government.
Indeed, five of the country’s 10 poorest states—Sokoto, Katsina, Zamfara, Kebbi, and Jigawa—are in the northwest region. Evidence suggests that population explosion, poor governance, and high incidence of poverty could render many unemployed youths more vulnerable to recruitment by terror groups in the region. Closely connected to this is the intensive desertification of the Sahara. Climate change is wreaking havoc on people’s livelihoods and facilitating the recruitment of poor farmers and vulnerable youths into terrorist groups in the region.