By Abdulmajid Mutunji
A journey between life or death happens closely all over the North West, particularly Zamfara, and most especially Gusau – the capital city of Zamfara– and Dansadau, Maru south. It is a journey of not more than 100km but the road is occupied by bandits who carry out malicious and unwanted killings of the obedient citizens.
The road is full of anxiety and fear to the extent that one cannot pass through the way without security personnel in sight. Bandits are always in control and in surveillance of the road. The insecurity has become a daily occurrence. People are being kidnapped, molested, killed, and property are being destroyed by the bandits.
The attacks the bandits carry out there on a daily basis are so dreadful that people cannot journey through the road without the presence of the army. The security challenge on this route has reached its peak, so much so that hardly a day could pass without experiencing a death record. Traveling on this road requires excessive prayers to survive the dangers associated with it.
A point on this road is known to the road users as Dogon Santsi; it’s located between Magami and Gusau. It’s the most dangerous place to pass. Because whenever passengers are bushwhacked by the bandits, they either kill or kidnap. In fact, when their intention is to kill, they will block the road, and start shooting randomly, maliciously and heartlessly.
According to the data released by the Nigeria Security Tracker (NST), at least 2,968 people were killed while 1,484 were abducted in Nigeria from January to March 2022. According to the data, more people were killed in the North-west region than in other regions in the country. At least 1,103 people were killed within the period in the region. North-west Nigeria recorded the highest number of casualties in 2020 (at least 1527), closely Kaduna, 628; Katsina, 501, Zamfara, 262; and Niger 254.
In a simple term, the entire regions of the North West are living in a state of restlessness, as the security architecture of the country is slack. It’s almost equal to say that there are no security personnel to look after the life of thousands of citizens, making loss of life commonplace in the country. This awful experience by the citizens is no doubt contrary to their expectations from the government, as the constitution clearly sets out the primary purpose of the government. Section 14(2) (b) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended) unambiguously states that,” the security and the welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of the government”.
It’s on this basis I urge the government to secure the life of thousands of citizens, living in villages where the illicit act of bandits usually take place. A quick response to these rascals, killing our fellow citizens in Zamfara and many neighboring states in the North West, and other states in Nigeria will be of highly great significance. The government should tackle this menace by strengthening its military capacity, and providing adequate arms and ammunition for them to carry out their duty successfully. Enough security agents should also be positioned across all the affected areas in such a way that the criminals will have no courage to operate.