IN recent days, despite the intense counter-terrorism operations by the armed forces, terrorists have been killing and maiming people in the northern states. For instance, on January 12, the outlaws killed at least 40 farmers and abducted at least 10 others in the Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State. The attack occurred less than a month after 14 civilians were murdered in cold blood in a rampage that reportedly began in a nightclub and spread rapidly to the surrounding neighborhoods in Yobe State. Previously, an attack in the state had left 40 hapless people dead. In Baure village in Katsina State, 21 members of the Katsina Community Watch Corps (KCWC) were killed while returning from a condolence trip to the family of a dead colleague. Emboldened by the laxity of the government, the terrorists routinely impose the sentence of death on members of the affected communities who fail or delay in paying the sundry fines and levies that they impose on them. Killing everyone in sight, the terrorists also set fire to houses and vehicles, inflicting untold damage on the communities.
Linking the loopholes in the anti-terror war to the inadequacy of military hardware, the Minister of Defence, Abubakar Badaru, recently demanded funding for an additional 50 Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) in the 2025 budget. Represented by the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, at the budget defence session at the House of Representatives, the minister said the N50.44bn allocated to the Ministry of Defence in the 2025 budget proposal was insufficient to address the country’s security needs. He said: “The Ministry of Defence is supposed to provide some equipment for some of the zones, but we cannot. Out of what we had in 2024, we were only able to provide just 20 Armoured Personnel Carriers but what can 20 APCs do? If we can have 50 APCs that can go into the bush to flush out those criminals, I assure you that within two months, we will finish the issue of banditry, but there is no provision for that in the 2025 budget. I believe this House will consider more funding to the Ministry of Defence so that we can provide some equipment to some fresh areas of attacks.” Addressing the committee at the National Assembly Complex, the minister also called for the prioritisation of the welfare of military personnel to enable them to perform optimally.
It cannot be cheery news that 15 years of conflict in the North-East has claimed the lives of no less than 35,000 civilians while humanitarian needs remain profound with 7.8 million people in need and 2.3 million people still displaced. The government should rise up to its responsibilities and arrest the drift. It should do everything within its power to curb the reign of terrorists in the North-East and the rest of the country. If terrorists are having an unchallenged reign, it can only mean that the right thing is not being done. Time and again, we have pointed out the utter lack of consequences for criminality which has emboldened criminals in their dastardly activities across the country. For instance, during the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Federal Government virtually became the megaphone of killer herders who wreaked monumental havoc across the country, creating vast killing fields and making farming virtually a death sentence. With such a callous and insensitive attitude by the government, it is no wonder that terrorists had a field day. The Bola Tinubu government must make a radical departure from the pestilential past and ensure that the outlaws who kill and maim at will are completely obliterated. It should make them understand that acts of terrorism will be met with utter extermination of the perpetrators. If terrorists are not staging killing sprees in countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United States or Russia, it is because they know the fate that awaits them if they toy with human life. In our view, the Nigerian government is yet to take the battle to the merchants of blood in such a way that they will recognise the intent of the state to give them no breathing space whatsoever. If and when that is done, the anti-terror narrative will change drastically.
The Defence Headquarters should flush out these criminals. It must give no quarter. In this regard, we urge the government to give it anything it needs to prosecute the anti-terror war, including military hardware. It must also address the living conditions of the officers and men of the armed forces, including the state of the barracks while closely monitoring the disbursement of funds across the services. Over time, there have been reports of massive corruption within the military and there is no reason to assume that the issue has been sufficiently addressed even now. In this regard, we endorse the position of the House Committee on Defence, namely that with enhanced budgetary provision “comes a heightened expectation for prudent, transparent, and impactful utilisation” and that “every naira must be judiciously spent to strengthen the operational capacity of the Armed Forces and deliver tangible results.” The lawmakers should walk their talk.
On current evidence, terrorists can take life at will in communities in the North-East and beyond. That is a terrible state of affairs that must be consciously reversed, and very urgently too. For as long as non-state actors can kill and maim and disrupt socioeconomic activities with impunity, for so long will the government’s oft-trumpeted programmes and development goals be difficult, if not impossible to achieve. That is why the government must take the issue of wiping out these terrorists much more seriously than it previously has. Because the situation is dire, it must take drastic actions, including the replacement of non-performing service chiefs, while undertaking a comprehensive overhaul of the counter-terrorism strategy to achieve optimum results.
We are saddened by the losses of innocent lives across the northern states. The government must stop the carnage.
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