An army officer and his girlfriend were arrested by authorities in Zamfara State. According to the Zamfara State Government, they were apprehended following their engagement in aiding bandits with military uniforms and ammunition in the state. This was made known by Dr. Bashir Maru, the Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Bello Matawalle, on 5, March 2021 in Gusau, the state capital. Dr. Maru revealed that community-driven intelligence necessitated the arrest:
“While the state government awaits the action of the military on this matter, the development has further confirmed the position of Governor Bello Matawalle that unless the fight against banditry is cleansed of bad eggs and saboteurs, we may not record the desired success in the fight.
“Let me use this medium to salute the courage and patriotism of the individual who came forward with information that led to the arrest of these traitors. Our gratitude knows no bound.”
Nigeria has been enmeshed in the cocoon of insecurity for a long time. As insecurity persistently takes the centre stage, one wonders why it lingers. Several governments have made persistent efforts over the years. Although the Buhari-led administration has recorded remarkable success, the problem has persisted, taking on other vicious forms like banditry and kidnapping. Even in the context of the current security situation, bandits have continued to terrorise communities. This is in spite of negotiations and other accommodating measures to stem the tide in the affected regions. Three things however show themselves to be the real problem in tackling insecurity in the country: inadequate funding, lack of enough boots on the ground, and what can be regarded as saboteurs in hidden terrains.
While the first two have been a major point of emphasis for major stakeholders and concerned citizens, the third is sparsely mentioned. The reality however is that saboteurs and fifth columnists are inhibiting the record of a lasting victory. This was the strong position held by Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, in August last year, when he stated that President Muhammadu Buhari needed to know that sabotage within the system was frustrating work to end insecurity in the country.
The new Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Zubairu Gambo, lent his voice to the notion when he claimed that Nigerian Navy officers were colluding with saboteurs, bandits, kidnappers, and drug traffickers, and as such will put in place measures to root out erring officers. The same drug traffickers or what Senator Ahmed Lawan describes as drug barons have been said to be the sponsors of banditry in affected regions, and it is apprehensive to see that they have been at the mercy of officers of the Nigerian armed forces.
Taking a larger-than-life outlook, perhaps this was why immediate past Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, cited that a near-victory was less likely when he projected that the fight against insurgency may last for another twenty years.
In 2018, Buratai had noted that the army was contending with forces that were sabotaging the war against insurgency. He described such forces as informants, collaborators, and saboteurs. The immediate past army Chief queried that insurgents were having a field day in their attacks as a result of saboteurs, “who monitor everyone, including troops”.
A similar position was shared by Alex Badeh, a former service chief who passed away few years ago. He disclosed that the effectiveness of the fight insurgency was greatly hampered by fifth columnists within the military who leaked sensitive information and operational plans to the terrorist sect.
Echoing Buratai’s position, Badeh averred that the activities of fifth columnists within the military has led to the avoidable deaths of many soldiers and officers who in oblivion walk into ambushes laid by insurgents who had prior knowledge of troops movement:
“The activities of fifth columnists in the military and other security agencies who leaked operational plans and other sensitive military information to the terrorist, combined to make the fight against the insurgents particularly difficult.
“The activities of these unpatriotic members of the military not only blunted the effectiveness of the fight, but also led to the needless deaths of numerous officers and men who unwittingly fell into ambushes prepared by terrorists who had advance warnings of the approach of such troops.”
Two retired military officers, Lt. Cdr. John Danjuma (rtd) and Major General Ola Majoyeogbe (rtd), who spoke on national TV drew from their wealth of experiences to reveal what they believed was the reason little gain has been achieved to combat insecurity in the country. Both officers joined the conversation and agreed with the school of thought that indeed the military must be purged of “fifth columnists” who were currently frustrating the war against terrorism.
As regards banditry in the state, Governor Abubakar Sani Bello noted that the effort of security agencies to rid Niger State of banditry is being sabotaged by some highly-placed members of the affected communities who act as informants for the bandits. He stated that “This is a very serious challenge for us because the bandits are working with some highly-placed members of the affected communities by giving out vital information thereby aiding bandits from being tactically isolated and overrun”.
As earlier mentioned, three problems upset the war against insecurity. The first is inadequate funding for the Nigerian Army which stakeholders and other concerned Nigerians have continued to make emphasis on. The second is the lack of boots on the ground. This second problem is however compounded as a result of the first. The war against insecurity in the country has met with many setbacks like the reports of Nigerian soldiers tendering their resignations.
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It is important to note that most of the soldiers who tender their resignations in the last ten years cited issues of poor welfare and/or lack of sophisticated weaponry to battle the insurgents, which boil down eventually to inadequate funding. This was former governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima’s position, who at the zenith of insurgency stormed Aso Rock during the Goodluck Jonathan-led administration lamenting poor motivation as one of the reasons the Nigerian military was losing grounds to criminal elements.
Nevertheless, it is clear that fifth columnists have strengthened the resolve of bandits, insurgents, kidnappers, and other armed gangs, thereby limiting the chances of a lasting victory to purge the country of the malaise of insecurity. This issue of sabotage should be given greater attention as it has the capacity to end or prolong the war depending on how it is handled.
Andy Charles
