THE RETURN OF MASS KIDNAPPING IN THE NORTH

· In just one week, bandits and Boko Haram terrorists have abducted scores of students, female IDPs, and other citizens across northern Nigeria.

· On February 28, 2024, bandits killed two residents of Anguwan Auta in Gonin Gora, Kaduna State and kidnapped 16 others. The kidnappers are demanding a ransom of N40 trillion, along with 11 Hilux vans and 150 motorcycles, for their release.

· On March 7th, 2024, 287 students, boys and girls between the ages of 8 and 15, were abducted by bandits from primary and secondary schools in the town of Kuriga in Kaduna State. The bandits have demanded a N1 billion ransom to set their captives free. They also threatened to kill the victims if the ransom was not paid in 20 days. It was reported that, on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, the bandits made contact through the principal of the school, Abubakar Isah, who was abducted alongside the students. The bandits contacted Aminu Kuriga, a friend of the school’s principal, at around 2 p.m. on that Tuesday, asking for the amount.

· On Friday, March 8, 2024, Amnesty International (AI) reported that Boko Haram terrorists abducted over 400 people, including women and children, in Borno State. Boko Haram kidnapped the IDPs from different camps in the Gamboru Ngala area of the state, which is one of the least secure parts of troubled Borno State.

· In the early hours of Saturday, March 9, 2024, 15 Quranic school students and an elderly woman were kidnapped when bandits raided Gidan Bakuso village in the Gada Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

· Looking at outrageous demands and the targets, the bandits and the Boko Haram terrorists are all out to embarrass the government and cash out from it because most of their targets are soft and in rural areas.

· However, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Muhammed Idris, was quoted as saying that President Tinubu has directed that security agencies must, as a matter of urgency, ensure that these children and all those who have been kidnapped are brought back in safety and also in the process, to ensure that not a dime is paid as ransom.

· Can the government secure the release of the hostages as soon as possible without negotiation or payment of a ransom? Have the terrorists discovered a loophole in the current approach? It appears that the bandits and terrorists are exploiting the successes achieved in certain hotspots, possibly causing security agents to focus on other areas.

· What needs to be done is a holistic approach to the deployment of both the kinetic and non-kinetic approaches. The state, federal, and local communities should work together; collaboration is key to security management. On March 14, 2024, the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, all the service chiefs have met with all 19 northern governors to deliberate on the issue of security. This is good.

· Managing security in a vast country like Nigeria with inadequate modern technology is difficult, and federal security operatives cannot be everywhere and anywhere at the same time. Here comes the importance of a well-designed and structured state police. They play a crucial role in maintaining law and order within their respective states by enforcing state laws, responding to emergencies, investigating crimes, and ensuring public safety. Thereby, they contribute significantly to the overall security and well-being of the citizens within their jurisdiction, while complementing the efforts of other federal security agencies.

· The hope is that the government should consider revitalising and re-strategizing both kinetic and non-kinetic security approaches as being implemented by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). This will lead to more successes and breakthroughs; however, more intelligence gathering is needed. Community engagement and direct psychological communication with the bandits should be employed. In community engagement, communities should be made to feel like part of the solution in security management, thus providing intelligence and also acting as watchdogs for security operatives without being endangered.

· Zayyad I. Muhammad, Abuja