By Owei Lakemfa
One of the major challenges of Nigeria since colonial times had been corruption. But President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has now proclaimed its death. Corruption is gone! Futuristic laser technology must have been used to carry out such a comprehensive and professional operation on corruption in the body polity of Nigeria.
So sophisticated that we Nigerians were not even aware we were on anesthetics until the operation had been successfully carried out. There also did not appear to be casualties in the final battle that ended corruption; no corrupt persons sent to jail, and no announced recovery of the trillions looted. It is nothing short of a 21st century miracle.
Corruption was going to kill Nigeria. That was why the opposition politicians in 2012 cried out that if “Nigeria does not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria.”
Now that corruption in Nigeria is dead, we might need to fold up the special anti- corruption agencies and, face other urgent national challenges. Apart from gnawing hunger and growing starvation, the most urgent to me, is insecurity.
Nigeria is one of the most impacted by contemporary banditry. It is the fastest growing industry in the country with many foreign investors. As an international market, Nigerian banditry has drawn lots of armed combatants across Africa, especially its central and West African regions.
The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, reported that in the first year of the Tinubu administration ending April 2024, Nigerians paid N 2.2 trillion or $1.41 billion as ransom to bandits. Half of this was paid in the North-West region.
Equally, the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, reported that in April 2025 alone, 570 Nigerians were killed in 378 kidnappings. The operational areas are mainly the highways and rural areas where many farmers have been forced off their farms. “The bandits have become so brazen that some take to the social media boasting about their exploits and displaying huge ransom they collected. Some, like Bello Turji, have become like rock stars.“ The breed of bandits in Nigeria are so callous that some kill their victims even after receiving ransom. In March, 2025, 56 hostages were taken from Banga Village, Kauran Namoda Local Government Area, LGA of Zamfara State. The bandits demanded N1 million ransom per victim. The LGA Chairman, Manniru Haidara Kaura, said after the ransom was paid, the 35 young persons amongst the hostages were selected and “slaughtered like rams.”
The bandits do the same to communities. For instance, hours after receiving N7million ransom from the Tagadi Community in Zamfara State, the bandits returned on September 5, 2025 to abduct more hostages and seize additional livestock.
But in a shocking revelation, Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, said if allowed, he can wipe out the banditry scourge in two months. Lawal who is also the chief security officer of the state said: “I swear to Almighty Allah, wherever a bandit leader is in Zamfara State, I know it. If he goes out, I know.
”With my phone, I can show you where they are today. But we cannot do anything beyond our powers. If today I have the power to give orders to the security agencies, I can assure you, we will end banditry in Zamfara within two months.
”Most of the time I shed tears for my people, because I see the problem but I cannot order the security men to act in time.”
He added: “The politicisation of insecurity is not hurting me as a person; it is destroying Zamfara. Some people do not want us to succeed. But I will not stop trying.”
If Governor Lawal says he knows the precise location of each bandit leader, then the federal agencies like the police, armed forces, State Security Services and Civil Defence who collectively have better security information, equipment, fire power and funds, have the same knowledge. So, the question is: why have they not utilized these to end the banditry?
The deduction from the governor’s claims is that that while the state government is desirous to end banditry, the Federal Government or its security agencies are not. Perhaps banditry has become that business which delivers mega profits.
Definitely, it is scary for the citizenry to be told that there is a solution to their nightmare but that top government officials at the federal level have constituted themselves into an obstacle for its realisation.
It is not difficult to decipher those Governor Lawal claims do not want the state to overcome the bandits. In September 2024, he had accused his immediate predecessor and current Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, of aiding bandits in the state.
He told the mass media: “If I were him (Matawalle), I would resign and face all the allegations …Because from all the information we’re getting, my predecessor (Matawalle) was fully involved in some of this banditry issue.”
Matawalle had brushed aside the pointed allegations by Governor Lawal. He said: “It was not only me that dialogued with bandits. Remember, all the governors dialogued; the then governor of Niger State, Habu Sani Bello, and the governors of Sokoto and Katsina states did the same. Why only me? Because it is Zamfara?
The Minister of Defence’s self-defense was that: “Zamfara is a very complex state with terrible human beings with devilish ideas. Our people are just different.”
On the specific accusations that he sponsored or sponsors banditry, Matawalle said he had sworn by the Quran that he is innocent. Is that enough to establish his innocence?
It is not unlikely that Lawal’s boast that if given a free hand and, can issue directives to the security services in the state, he would end banditry in two months, is an empty one.
Also, he could simply be playing to the gallery. Equally, his accusations against other political leaders and security agencies might be an attempt to excuse his own failure in protecting the Zamfara people against bandits as he had promised in his campaigns.
What is however undeniable is that there has been no coherent response to his claims either by the Presidency or Defence Ministry. Rather, what we have witnessed are a cacophony of voices asking President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in Zamfara State. But how would the suspension or removal of Governor Lawal solve the banditry issue which is prevalent in the entire North-West? Even if all the governors in the region are removed, how can that be a solution?
As I have said a number of times, in the face of prevalent banditry and terrorism, the most potent solution is the empowerment of the Nigerian mass for self-defence. This will enable us to defend our homes, farms, schools, roads and work places.
