Assessing The Causes And Government Intervention In Reducing Banditry In The Northern Part Of Nigeria

Assessing The Causes And Government Intervention In Reducing Banditry In The Northern Part Of Nigeria

Chapter One

Preface

Background of the study

A bandit is a purloiner or outlaw belonging to a gang, who uses munitions to steal or burglarize from the people and generally operating in an insulated or lawless area of a country. Banditry is a term used to relate to acts of thievery and violence in areas where the rule of law has broken down( Collins, 2000). Banditry consists of the association of fortified bands for the purpose of attacking state or social institutions or enterprises or individual persons. Participation in similar bands and in the attacks committed by them is inversely regarded as banditry( Collins, 2000).

Historically, banditry has was and operated in different corridor of the world since the 19th century when bandits riding substantially on steed tails move from their lairs to attack townlets and also retreated back to their lairs. In Europe, bandits have was in substantially mountainous areas of Italy, Spain, Greece and Turkey( Cassia, 1993). In Asia, bandits have was in several countries similar as Iran, Philippines and India( Bankoff, 1998). In India, bandits are called Daku in Hindi Language which the British colonialist chased as dacoity during the social period. therefore dacoity has come a term for banditry in the Indian key where bandits have operated for numerous times in north and north central India. One of the notable dacoits was Gabbar Singh who inspired the notorious 1975 Bollywood film Sholay( Flames) grounded on his life. thus, banditry has a rich and economic history throughout south Asia and despite continued anti banditry sweats, the problem of banditry persists in India presently( Dmella, 2018). Banditry is another security challenge in Africa where bandits have continued to ruin the cornucopia of Africa, East and Central Africa and the trans- Saharan trade routes from Niger Republic all the way to Libya( Aregbesola, 2020). Banditry has was in corridor of Chad and around Lake Chad and they also have significant presence in corridor of Southern Africa( Aregbesola, 2020). In West Africa, the frequence and inflexibility of banditry has contributed to the rising increase in indigenous instability with a implicit trouble to indigenous integration of the subregion( Abdullahi, 2019). Reports have shown that some of the bandits from some countries of the West Africansub-region similar as Niger Republic and Mali were invited to carry out large scale attacks in some countries of the

sub-region. They moved through the pervious West African borders with their arms to help their fellow bandits in carrying out large scale or reprisal attacks. In Nigeria, banditry came as a result of nearly four decades of undetermined conflicts between settled tillers and vagrant herding communities that wander on the high plains of northern Nigeria particularly the North West geo- political zone in countries similar as Zamfara. Banditry in Zamfara State started since around 2009 and increased in 2011 especially after the general choices( Anka, 2017). In fact, Zamfara state has been the center of banditry in Nigeria, where utmost of the bandit’s leaders were grounded and from Zamfara state timbers they would move riding on motor cycles to other countries similar as Katsina, to operate and return to their timber dens( Farouq and Chukwu, 2020). thus by the time 2010, banditry had started in Katsina State primarily in the seven Original Government Areas( LGAs) that participated boundary with Zamfara state videlicet Jibia, Batsari, Safana, Danmusa, Kankara, Faskari and Sabua. Since banditry involved acts of thievery and violence on the people particularly pastoral residers who substantially engaged in husbandry, cattle rearing and other food product conditioning it’s bound to have impacts on food security. Food security according to the World Food Summit 1996 “ exists when all people at all times, have physical and profitable access to sufficient, safe, and nutritional food that meets their salutary requirements and food preferences for an active healthy life ”( FAO, 2008). The Food and Agricultural Organization( FAO, 2010) simply defines food security as the vacuity of food in terms of product, distribution and consumption. Any form of violence that leads to instability in pastoral areas where maturity of the people are growers is bound to affect food security anywhere in the world. The United Nations in September 2020 observed that attacks by AlShabaab insurrectionary group will consolidate food instability into the time 2021 in Mozambique( Channels, 2020). In Nigeria, the Federal Government has realized that banditry has posed a serious trouble to tilling communities in the northern corridor of the country. thus in April 2017, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in confluence with the Minister of Interior initiated the conformation of a special unit of AgroRangers Corps to cover growers and tilling investments throughout the country( The Sun, 2017). The use of theAgro-Rangers was anticipated to avert attacks on spreads and boost planter’s confidence to work on their granges without fear of attacks, thereby guaranteeing the Federal Government avowed food security plans( NSCDC, 2020). On the occasion of the June 12 Democracy Day Speech President Buhari blazoned the deployment of 5,000Agro-Rangers to offer protection to growers and tilling investments across the country( Oyeleke, 2020). In December, 2018 the Minister of Interior observed that the patient attacks on residers of Zamfara state by bandits would affect food security in Nigeria as a whole during an onthe- spot assessment of the conditioning of bandits in the state( Agency Report, 2018).

There’s no more effective result than forceful inland and frontier policing. similar policing must deal with the region’s peculiar circumstances of different borders, timber lands and outlands. This requires a politic community between grassroots castigators and the state security operatives. The civil government’s current counter banditry trouble, grounded on military surveillance and raids, is good and estimable. But it has failed to bring about the demanded respite, owing largely to the functional challenges arising from inadequate knowledge of the terrain. This makes the involvement of original castigators and community watch groups, who have a better knowledge of the terrain, more important. still, to guard against possible surpluses and abuse, people in these structures must be duly trained, equipped and supervised. The way forward, also, is the development of grassroots policing, amended by original labor force and intelligence.

Statement of exploration problem

The rising prevalence of cattle rustling as a part of the problem of pastoral banditry may not be unconnected to the problem of small arms and light munitions that have set up their way into the hands ofnon-state actors, now a part of the wider challenge of mortal security defying Nigeria. Although it’s delicate to gain dependable data in Nigeria, it has been suggested that between 7 and 8 million lawless small arms and light munitions are in rotation in West Africa alone, with a huge number entering Nigeria( Chuma- Okoro, 2013). This is largely as a result of pervious borders, including the affinity between border communities which consider any strict border control as an violation upon the social and artistic rights ofthe people( Chuma- Okoro, 2013). This estimate is far above the figure of 1- 2 million lawless small armsin the early 2000s( Egwu, 2014). Public policy responses must fete that utmost of the factors potentially driving the proliferation of small arms and light munitions are linked to the decline in state capacity and the mortal security dilemma facing both the state and citizens. For case ungoverned space provides a power vacuum, which is at times filled by religious revolutionist groups and/ or felonious rudiments who have taken over remote areas where the State presence is reduced or missing( Aning, 2009

Objects Of The Study

The primary ideal of this study is as follows

1. To find out the causes of banditry Northern part of Nigeria.

2. To find out if government have interposed in reducing banditry in the Northern part of Nigeria.

3. To find out how banditry in the Northern part of Nigeria can be reduced or canceled .

4. To find out how government can ameliorate on the strategy been used in fighting banditry in the Norther part of Nigeria.

Exploration Questions

The following questions have been prepared for this study

1. What are the causes of banditry in Northern part of Nigeria?

2. Do you suppose there’s government intervention in reducing banditry in the Northern part of Nigeria?

3. How can banditry be reduced or canceled in the Northern part of Nigeria?

4. How can government ameliorate on the strategy been used in fighting banditry?

Significance of the study

The significance of this study can not be undervalued as

This study will assess the causes and government intervention in reducing banditry in the Northern part of Nigeria.

The findings of this exploration work will really give the important demanded information to government associations, security agencies, NGOS and academia.

Compass Of The Study

This study intends to assess the causes and government intervention in reducing banditry in the Northern part of the country. The study is demarcated to GUMMI original government area in Zamfara state and as similar will be used as a case study

Limitations of the study

This study was constrained by a number of factors which are as follows

just like any other exploration, ranging from attainability of demanded accurate accoutrements on the content under study, incapability to get data

Financial constraint, was faced by the experimenter, in getting applicable accoutrements and in printing and collation of questionnaires

Time factor time factor disguise another constraint since having to shuttle between jotting of the exploration and also engaging in other academic work making it uneasy for the experimenter

Functional Description Of Terms

Assessing estimate or estimate the nature, capability, or quality of

Government intervention is nonsupervisory action taken by government that seek to change the opinions made by individualities, groups and organisations about social and profitable matters.

Banditry is a type of systematized crime committed by outlaws generally involving the trouble or use of violence