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In a series of letters from African journalists, Manil Dan Ali, former editor-in-chief of the Nigerian Daily Trust, shows that the shooting down of military aircraft is making organized crime more and more bold day by day. It states that it is.
The Nigerians call them bandits-not a complete justification for what the actual network of sophisticated criminals operating in the widespread northwestern and central parts of Nigeria is.
Biker gangs terrorize the area, steal animals, kidnap them for ransom, kill those who dare to stand up to them, and tax farmers. This is a huge money-making strategy.
For the past four years, security forces have been unable to cope with situations where millions of Nigerians feel out of control.
Last week, President Muhammadu Buhari opened the road from Dutzima to Tsaskiya in his hometown of Katsina, but few people dare to travel under countless attacks.
Most high-ranking government officials, including the security minister, Take the train connecting the capital Abuja and Kaduna due to frequent kidnappings On the road between the two cities.
Recently, a military general was killed on the main road from Abuja to central Kogi, and his sister, who was traveling with him, was kidnapped.
This week, an ambush in Zamfara killed 13 gendarmerie and kidnapped at least 150 villagers at the same time.
Currently, at least 300 students have been detained by kidnappers kidnapped from schools in the states of Kaduna, Niger and Kebbi at various times over the past two months.
Some are 5-year-old Islamic elementary school students, and most of them are ill if the kidnappers are believed.
In all these cases, gangsters are demanding huge amounts of money to free their children-ransoms that parents can’t pay, authorities have to pay ransoms and negotiate with criminals. Insist.
The kidnapper, whose hideout is in a vast camp in the woods, is brave.
When they withhold payments, they bother their parents by demanding bags of rice, beans, and cooking oil to feed their prisoners.
Dozens of schools across at least five states in the north have been closed by authorities because they cannot be protected.
Food price spiral
This hasn’t stopped gangsters lately looking to target more famous people such as local chiefs and his family.
Hundreds of villages were abandoned after some of the most brutal and deadly attacks.
In some areas, gangsters tell locals what they can do and collect taxes.
Such anxiety in one of the country’s rich agricultural areas is clear to everyone.
Already this year, the prices of staple foods such as corn, rice and beans grown there have risen unprecedentedly.
Currently, in the middle of the agricultural season, vast farmlands are no longer accessible.
“Sophisticated know-how”
Air power, one obvious advantage that authorities seemed to have against criminals, is now under threat.
Reports that a military plane was shot down by one of the gangs on Sunday were initially flatly denied.
But when villagers in the area told reporters that they helped the pilot escape safely, The military issued a statement with a more positive spin -Praise the “brave pilot” who was exposed to “fierce enemy fire” after a “successful” mission.
Authorities may have tried to downplay the case, which shocked security analysts.
“We know that thieves have all those bazookas, rocket launchers … we don’t believe they have the technical know-how and ability to use them. “I did,” retired security official Mike Ejiofor told the Vanguard newspaper.
Some members of the gang boast an alliance with the Islamic Boko Haram extremists who have rebelled in northeastern Nigeria for 10 years, while others are currently in the Islamic State group. There is also. Such claims have not been independently verified.
Details of Nigeria’s Security Crisis:
However, a thief leader with about 90 school children told his parents to marry a girl to a fighter and instruct a boy to join his group. This is the tactic that Boko Haram used to expand.
For one columnist, Boko Haram specialist, Brahma Bukarti, these angers take the problem to another level.
“It’s time for Buhari to declare these beasts terrorists and deploy all the resources available to fight them. There can be no if, but, or equivocation.”
Ejiofor reiterated that “the army should do everything for them and continuously bomb their excursions.”
Affected communities are worried about the growing boldness of criminal gangs.
However, as the need for military intervention increases, some may be nervous about the three states devastated by Boko Haram. Here, millions of people live in overcrowded camps far from old homes and lives.
More letters from Africa:
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