A look at Nigeria’s all-out war against banditry

Nigeria’s minister of defence inspects newly acquired attack helicopters

As Nigeria’s defence minister inspects new helicopters purchased by the government as part of the air component in its operations against marauding bandits in the country’s north, he claims emphatically that “the end of banditry is near.”

Reports say the air operations, nicknamed Operation Farautar Mujiya, are a part of a major exercise named “Operation Fasan Yamma” established to combat terrorism and banditry in the north-western states that has left many dead and crippled economic activities in the country’s agricultural hub.

Reports from the front corroborate these heightened efforts to end the activities of these groups. One of the most celebrated successes was the elimination of Kachalla Halilu Sububu, a notorious Fulani bandit leader in the north-western state of Zamfara, in an ambush by the Nigerian military in Mayanchi village on September 12.

In recent air raids, the Nigerian Air Force has successfully eliminated bandits and some of their most notorious leaders, including figures like Malam Sale, who was under the tutelage of the notorious bandit Dogo Gide, in Palele axis, Shiroro Local Government Area (LGA) in the north central state of Niger.

On November 15, sustaining its aggressive air interdiction campaign aimed at eliminating bandit threats in North-western Nigeria, air force fighter jets executed further air interdiction missions in Zamfara, leading to the elimination of numerous bandits, including key loyalists of infamous bandit leaders Dan-Isuhu and Dogo Sule.

The airstrikes targeted a large assembly of bandits in Babban Kauye village, situated in Tsafe LGA in Zamfara. Intelligence sources revealed that the congregation of bandits was perfecting plans for coordinated attacks against military personnel and civilians along the Tsafe axis.

The airstrikes inflicted significant casualties on high-ranking members of the bandit groups greatly limiting their operational capacity, based on reports from the ground.

Before the air strikes, the area had long been a flashpoint for bandit activities, with factions loyal to Dan-Isuhu and Dogo Sule notorious for carrying out violent assaults on local communities, security forces, and vital infrastructure. These groups have used these remote settlements as strategic safe havens, from which they coordinate and execute their criminal operations.

The spokesman for the air force, Olusola Akinboyewa, in a press release, said the airstrikes represented “a robust response and support for the Theatre Command of Operation Fansan Yamma by the AirForce, aligning with broader efforts to dismantle and completely degrade bandit networks in the region, disrupt planned attacks with a view to restoring peace and stability to the embattled Northwest.”

Continuing with its successful operations, on November 16 the Air Force also conducted strikes against several bandit cells, killing several members, in Palele, Shiroro LGA in Niger. The operation also targeted strategic arms depots and the residence of a notorious kingpin, Mallam Saleh, officials sources reported.

According to Akinboyewa, Saleh’s reign of terror had devastated vulnerable communities in the Shiroro area, with attacks, abductions, and extortion instilling fear. However, the Air Force had been tracking his movements and gathering crucial intelligence to dismantle his operations, sources informed West Africa Report.

Fighting the insurgency, many security experts say, also requires intelligence efforts to track the movements of these groups and how they get their weapons and funding.

The attack on Sububu underlined the importance of intelligence-led operations against the bandit groups. Sources say the operation against him was possible due to intelligence provided by local communities.

Investigating how the weapons and funds get to these groups, a respected security analyst, Zagazola Makama, says “the outlets and network of insurgency groups, invariably thrives on paddles of uninterrupted proliferation of smuggling of resources for survival.”

The network of proliferation and smuggling are tied to established strongholds, links and machinery of motions like couriers and spies who live by means to evade detection.

Beyond logistical support, security experts say the insurgents have established revenue-generation networks. These include taxing local smugglers and merchants in areas like Gegime, Niger Republic, and engaging in fish and livestock trading through towns like Hadejia, in the north-western state of Jigawa, as well as the sale of livestock from the Lake Chad through Monguno town, going to other parts of the country. This income is funnelled back into their operations, continuing the cycle of violence and instability.

The Nigerian government has gone to great lengths, sources say, to ensure success of its new push, and its strategy includes strengthening coordination with its neighbours, part of the reason it had to end the sanctions imposed on Niger, its neighbour to the north because it has to sustain its military coordination with Niger, through the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJT).

On November 18, as part of efforts to strengthen cooperation with its neighbours in the Sahel, a high-level Nigerian delegation, led by the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, along with Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, the Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major General Emmanuel Undiandeye, and Maj Gen Ali Salau, Force Commander MNJTF and other senior security officials, visited the Tchadian president, Mahamat Idriss Déby.

These efforts are expected to bolster coordination with the Sahel states to fight these criminal groups on multiple fronts. There seems, however, to be a pushback from the marauding gangs of bandits. In three weeks, they have raided several towns, some that have never witnessed attacks before, and kidnapped a number of people, even boldly engaging Nigeria’s elite military units in wild shootouts.

In a recent incident, in one afternoon, bandits killed seven people including local vigilantes in the town of Bangi Mariga in Niger, ambushing them after they had loaded a truck with bags of maize and setting the truck ablaze.

In another incident, bandits invaded Wawan Ichen community in Zamfara, destroying properties and ransacking the community. Locals reported at least 40 people abducted during the invasion.

On the same day, bandits ransacked Kalgo community in Sabon Birni LGA in Sokoto. They killed two people, abducted several others and burnt the four biggest grain silos in the community.

On the night of November18 bandits blocked a busy transport route, the Sokoto-Goronyo Road, abducting travellers who turned out to be islamic clerics affiliated to Jama’atul Izalatil Bid’ah Wa’iqamatis Sunnah (JIBWIS), a Salafi Islamic organisation in Nigeria, causing serious apprehensions in the north.

The Defence Minister’s assurance of an end to banditry highlights the strong resolve by the Nigerian government to end a scourge that has seen scores dead and the hemorrhaging of the country’s agricultural sector, heavily concentrated in the north.

Security experts say the new push could turn the tide against banditry, but the efforts must be sustained in coordination with local communities affected in order to root out elements that may try to blend in with locals.