The Kidnapping Déjà vu

Nigeria is currently on a large-scale kidnapping déjà vu. On Friday 11th December, 2020, hundreds of schoolboys were adopted in Katsina state by armed bandits. The attack is akin to the 2014 abduction of 276 schoolgirls in Chibok by Boko Haram insurgents; about 100 of the girls are still missing. Lately, armed bandits hold sway in Nigeria\’s northern region, undeterred by several announcements of military engagements against them. They are also unperturbed by the presence of Nigeria\’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, and his security detail, who is currently holidaying in Katsina state. The Northwest zone has faced dauntless attacks by unrelenting bandits in recent years, such that the region has been described as the unofficial theatre of violence in Nigeria. The last Friday abduction of schoolboys is the most daring activity of the bandits in recent times.

A lack of proper identification has trailed armed banditry in Nigeria. And its menace is raising questions whether they are still bandits or terrorists and also the ideology behind their activities. First, bandits are attacking communities in the Northwest, killing and maiming residents, destroying farmlands, rustling cows and looting households. They are also involved in kidnapping and sexual violence against women. These activities are similar to what Boko Haram insurgents are doing in the Northeast.

Second, Boko Haram’s ideology, which is predicated against Western education as portrayed by attacks on schools is also being adopted by bandits. For instance, on November 15, 2020, students of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Kaduna State were abducted by bandits. Three days later, Nigerian Army School of Infantry (NASI) in Jaji, Kaduna State was attacked by bandits. On August 25, Prince Academy in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna state was also attacked and many students abducted.

Third, both bandits and Boko Haram insurgents indiscriminately raid soft targets. In November 2020, over 40 rice farmers had their throats slit by Boko Haram insurgents. Within the same timeline, reports hold that farmers in some northwest communities pay levies to bandits before harvesting their crops or risk being attacked.

In July 2020, Nigeria\’s Defence Headquarters (DHQ) held that terrorists from the Northeast were moving to the Northwest with sophisticated weapons. This migration could mean that Boko Haram is expanding to the Northwest due to the growing insecurity in the region. In August 2020, the United States alerted Nigeria that Al-Qaeda has started penetrating the Northwest zone in its expansion moves in West Africa. The Northwest region is increasingly attractive for extremists’ groups with its ungoverned spaces and ineffectual security presence. Violence in the area has led to about 1500 deaths and over 300,000 displacements.

Despite the growing similarities between bandits and terrorists, one group are regarded as bandits. And they are sometimes treated with kid gloves by the affected state governments through hastily arrived and unclear peace deals. On the other hand, the federal government has waged a counterterrorism war against Boko Haram for over a decade. It has also extended olive branches to \’low risk\’ repentant jihadist fighters.

Banditry in Nigeria is rapidly increasing in frequency and tempo. The abduction of hundreds of schoolboys at the same period when the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces is on a state visit to his country home shows that the group have become more dogged and dauntless. Therefore, government must sit up and properly conceptualise the problem of banditry in Nigeria.  This will inform kinetic approaches to address its menace. With the bandit’s nomenclature uncertain and their activities typical of Boko Haram insurgents, government must not drag feet in approaching them as a terrorist organisation. Proper classification of banditry will give room for international support and more targeted combative and non-combative engagements. On the interim, Nigeria\’s security operatives must focus on confirming the number of kidnapped schoolboys and employ all measures to rescue them. This abduction has reinforced that the Northwest is highly unsafe and as such security presence in the region must be doubled up.

Meanwhile, there should be an independent assessment of the numerous peace deals that were struck between 2019 and 2020 by affected state governments in the Northwest. This will help to identify bandits’ groups and the terms of the amnesty to understand why it has failed to restore peace. This investigation may give insights to whether there is a connection between bandits and the predicted influx of terrorists in the Northwest. In a broader frame, securitisation efforts must be reviewed and buckled up to meet up with the escalating insecurity. Otherwise, the Kankara boys’ abduction may just be the beginning of large-scale violence in Nigeria\’s Northwest.