…….As security expert, residents urge FG to strengthen security
Elizabeth Vincent, Yenagoa
For years banditry and kidnapping have continued to cast a long and terrifying shadow over Nigeria leaving families traumatised, communities vulnerable and citizens increasingly uncertain about their safety, beyond the gunmen who abduct and kill, questions are mounting over the powerful networks that allegedly finance facilitate and profit from their criminal operations.
As the security crisis deepens,a retired police superintendent and security expert, Pius Timila, has called on the federal government to adopt a more decisive approach to tackling banditry and kidnapping, insisting that the sponsors and financiers of criminal activities must be investigated and prosecuted alongside the perpetrators.
Timila, who served as a divisional police officer (DPO) and held various command positions, including the leadership of a special anti robbery squad (SARS) unit, made the call while speaking on the growing security challenges in the country.
“He argued that the government should apply the same criminal justice principles used in tackling other offences to banditry, stressing that the sponsors and financiers of criminal groups should face severe punishment if found guilty by the courts.”
According to him, criminal activities thrive because perpetrators often have people who provide them with resources and markets through which they operate.”
“Whatever is applicable to other crimes should also be applied to banditry for instance when a person is convicted of killing, the punishment prescribed by law may include imprisonment or, where applicable, capital punishment.
“Similarly, the law recognises the role of those who assist criminals,without people willing to receive or facilitate the disposal of stolen property, some criminals may not have the same incentive to commit robbery or theft.
“That same principle should be applied to kidnappingthere are people who sponsor kidnappers ,If a person is found guilty in court of sponsoring kidnapping, the law should prescribe an appropriate and sufficiently severe punishment, he said.
Timila also stressed the importance of investigating allegations of conspiracy and aiding criminal activities, noting that individuals who knowingly facilitate crimes should not escape accountability.
“He questioned why allegations of political sponsorship of banditry often generate public attention without corresponding investigations and prosecutions,every time the Nigerian government says that a particular politician is suspected of sponsoring banditry nothing appears to happen,governors, former governors and senators are sometimes mentioned as suspected sponsors but no action follows.”
“If the police or another law enforcement agency receives credible evidence that a person is sponsoring robbery, the agency is expected to investigate and where appropriate arrest and prosecute the person,why should the same principle not apply to banditry, he asked.”
“The retired police officer said the government appeared to be politicising the issue, warning that continued politicisation could allow banditry to grow into a more dangerous national security threat,in my view they are politicising banditry, Nigeria has not treated banditry with the seriousness of a conventional criminal offence and as long as it is politicised, it will continue to grow into a monster, he said.
Timila further observed that the apparent decline in armed robbery in some areas could partly be linked to criminals shifting to kidnapping because of the higher financial returns and prolonged control over victims.
“I am not talking only about kidnappings associated with Fulani groups Individuals who would previously have been involved in robbery are now turning to kidnapping, he said.”
He noted that kidnapping often causes deeper psychological and emotional trauma than robbery because victims could be held captive for days or weeks, subjected to physical and psychological abuse and threatened with death.
“Robbery can be relatively brief. Criminals may arrive, take what they can and leave, or flee when they see the police approaching but with kidnapping, they seize a person and hold the victim for days or weeks, inflict psychological and physical suffering, demand ransom and, in some cases, even after ransom has been paid they still kill the victim, he added.
Timila maintained that many of the elements associated with armed robbery were also present in activities commonly described as banditry, urging the authorities to focus on the criminal acts rather than political or ethnic labels.
Residents Seek Stronger Military, International Collaboration
Meanwhile a Bayelsa resident, Ebimo Kingsley, expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s handling of banditry and kidnapping, questioning why the federal government had not deployed all available resources to protect citizens.
Kingsley urged the government to strengthen collaboration with regional and international security partners where legally and operationally appropriate, while deploying modern technology to identify and track criminal hideouts.
“If the federal government wants to flush out these criminal elements, it should use every available legal and security mechanism, technology can help security agencies identify where these criminals are hiding and support targeted operations, he said.
He commended Nigerian troops for their efforts but called for improved weapons intelligence, logistics and other operational resources to enable them to confront criminal groups more effectively.
Kingsley also advocated investigation into the alleged sponsors and financiers of criminal activities stressing that anyone found guilty should face the full weight of the law.
Another resident, Mrs Helen Tamarakuro, expressed concern over the emotional and psychological trauma suffered by families of kidnapped victims,she said women and other vulnerable victims were particularly exposed to abuse in captivity alleging that some victims had been subjected to sexual violence and humiliation.
“Can you imagine the emotional trauma and psychological damage these criminals have inflicted on innocent people, especially women who become victims families of kidnapped persons live in constant tension, fear and sadness while praying for the safe return of their loved ones.”
Tamarakuro urged president Bola Tinubu to seek greater international cooperation and support in the fight against kidnapping and banditry, arguing that the scale of the insecurity required stronger coordination intelligence sharing and access to modern security technology.
She appealed to the government to intensify efforts to protect citizens and restore confidence in the country’s security system.
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