Former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Gen Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (retd), has charged military top brass led by the Chief of Defense Staff (CDS), Gen Christopher Musa, to end banditry and killings “as soon as possible”.
The octogenarian former army chief gave the charge on Tuesday in Abuja during the presentation of a book titled, ‘Big Boots: Lessons From My Military Service’, authored by Maj Gen Solomon Udounwa (retd).
Addressing serving and retired military top brass including the current defence chief seated at the event, Gen TY Danjuma (retd) said the onus rested on serving officers to end the menace of banditry and senseless killings by marauders all over the country.
The former COAS said, “We must end the banditry and the killings that are going on in our country as soon as possible.
“The responsibilities are on your shoulders; those of you who are still servicing. No excuses, absolutely no excuses. God bless you. God bless our country.”
In response, the defence chief said the Armed Forces won’t be deterred by the challenges confronting them in the fight against banditry and terrorism.
He assured Gen TY Danjuma that the military won’t fail but bring the blood-sucking mongers called bandits to their knees.
“The Armed Forces of Nigeria is willing, dedicated and committed to ensuring that we restore peace and security in our own dear country.
“We shall not be deterred. I want to assure you that we have learnt so much from your records. We cannot afford to fail and we will not fail,” Gen Musa told TY Danjuma.
Nigeria’s North-West and North Central geopolitical zones have been a hotbed of dark-hearted marauders known colloquially as bandits.
A recent report by security intel gathering firm SBM Intelligence showed that Nigerians paid ₦1.04bn as ransom to kidnappers in the last year.
The firm said its research found that within the period under review, no fewer than 7,568 people were abducted in 1,130 incidents across the country.
“In that same period, kidnappers demanded at least the sum of ₦10,995,090,000 (approximately $6,871,931) as ransom but received ₦1,048,110,000, a mere 9.5% of the money demanded, indicating that kidnappers have become less targeted in their victimology.
“Of the 1,130 reported kidnapping cases, Zamfara, Kaduna, and Katsina have the highest numbers of incidents and victims. Zamfara recorded 132 incidents with 1,639 victims, Kaduna had 113 incidents with 1,113 victims, and Katsina reported 119 incidents with 887 victims,” the report stated.
The firm said on average, someone is killed each time there is an attempted kidnap.
