Politics
Fayemi on alliance of evil between Boko Haram and kidnapping gangs
THE reaffirmation by the Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, of the nexus between terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and the general breakdown of law and order across the country should guide the authorities in stamping out insecurity. Fayemi, who doubles as the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, told journalists in Abuja of the “direct correlation” between terrorists and the bloody nationwide crime wave and how the proceeds of kidnapping and banditry fuel insurgency. Thus, armed with sufficient insight into the terrorist adaptability and the Salafist ideology that drives it, the government and security agencies should devise an effective strategy to crush criminality.
In recent years, the number of kidnapping-for-ransom incidents has spiked across the country. The Switzerland-based Centre for Security Studies says Islamist terrorist groups in particular use extorted ransom funds to finance a significant share of their expenses. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is alleged to have collected a total of $89 million in such revenues between 2003 and 2012. Terrorist groups use the ransom funds to recruit new members, to fund the maintenance of training camps, for the procurement of weapons and communications tools, and for organising and executing terrorist attacks.
It is difficult to defeat an enemy you do not understand; the government has for too long demonstrated ignorance of the dynamics of Islamist terrorism since the Boko Haram insurgency began in 2009. Officials also live in denial of the existential danger terrorism in all its iterations poses to the country. They worsen this by unpardonable politicking, allowing primordial considerations to override the imperative of national security. The weakness of internal security has allowed terrorists to mingle with herders to further their jihadist cause, birth offshoots and spread beyond their North-East roots.
In the first half of 2013, the CSS claimed that half of the global kidnapping cases were carried out in just four countries: Nigeria (26 per cent), Mexico (10 per cent), Pakistan (nine per cent), Yemen (seven per cent). According to the Australian government, globally, ransom is paid in 64 per cent of kidnapping cases. But a strict no-ransom policy with the threat of military intervention adopted by many Western countries became a disincentive for terrorists, but made jihadists turn their focus internally.
Fayemi’s insight, spoken after emerging from a meeting with the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), along with recent pronouncements by other senior government figures, offer some hope that finally, the reality has sunk in and the government will respond accordingly with effective and comprehensive strategies against criminality in the country. As he rightly said, the correlation between terrorism in the North-East, banditry in the North-West and kidnapping in the South-West means that “some of the people involved in these are also the ones responsible for insurgency. We must treat them as a comprehensive issue and then tackle them collectively.”
Corroborating Fayemi’s take, Nasir el-Rufai, the governor of Kaduna State, declared, “Kidnapping operations by bandits are substantially funding Boko Haram activities in the North-East.” Intelligence reports also establish that new terror groups, armed with proceeds of kidnapping and robbery and sophisticated weapons, exposed to the toxic ideology of Boko Haram and emboldened by state weakness, have established cells in the North-West and North-Central and collaborating with criminals operating in the South-West. Collectively, this is referred to as “gangster jihadism.”
Nigeria has suffered dearly for the dithering of the federal and state governments. Experience around the world had shown how terrorists align with criminal networks, drug traffickers and money launderers. Warnings of such growing links between Nigeria’s bandits, Fulani herders and terrorists have been coming for years from local and reputable international sources but ignored by officials. A 2017 report by the International Crisis Group, citing Western intelligence sources, reported “a troubling increasingly close collaboration between Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen and bandits operating in the North-West.” Now, hiding behind unregulated open grazing, this alliance of evil sees the whole country as its operational theatre.
There is no evidence that Nigeria’s security agencies acted on this report, which the ICG said had been shared with them by the US Military’s Africa Command. A Brookings Institution report refers to bandits and killer herders as “thinly disguised terrorists.”
While the Nigerian government was incorrectly labelling Fulani attacks on communities in the North-Central as merely “herders-farmers clashes,” the Global Terrorism Index since 2015 ranked the Fulani marauders as the world’s fourth deadliest terrorist group. The Independent of London credited it with killing 847 persons across five Northern states in 2014 among the total 7,512 deaths in the country arising from terrorism that year. Denial, politics, corruption and sheer incompetence have combined to allow criminality to metastasize and push the country dangerously to the edge of state failure. Alarmed, a former military head of state, Abdulsalami Abubakar, estimates that the “six million illegal arms” circulating in the country fuel unprecedented insecurity.
The moment of truth has arrived rather late, but decisive action can still save the union. For starters, criminality should be recognised as such. The government and security agencies should discard political, ethnic and religious considerations and resolutely stamp out terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, robbery, rape and murder decisively.
Importantly, security agencies should recognise the nature of Islamic terrorism: it may start as a local tumour, but it is global movement based on the Salafist ideology of perpetual jihad; with violence and disruption of existing order as weapons. It knows no national boundaries and its operatives are ingeniously adaptable. A Rand Corporation report found that apart from capitalising on the absence of the state in ungoverned areas, jihadists invariably link up with criminal gangs, smugglers, drug traffickers and underworld networks in shifting alliances. The inevitable alliance between Boko Haram/ISWAP, bandits, kidnappers and AK-47-wielding Fulani militants compels strong law enforcement and stronger political will. A single terror cell, unchecked, can trigger a national crime wave or eventual state failure.
Federal security agencies should stop being part of the irrational offer of amnesty to bandits by some state governors. Jihadists and their collaborators cannot be appeased.
Since reports have established the influx of fighters, arms and ammunition from North, West and Central Africa as well as thousands of displaced herders, the government should tighten border controls and move security and administrative personnel into the ungoverned territories to deprive terrorists and bandits the room to operate.
Instead of threats and hints, the government should uncover the sponsors and financiers of terrorism and banditry; their funding, arms and logistics networks should be disrupted. According to the Financial Action Task Force, “disrupting terrorism-related financial flows and transactions is one of the effective ways to fight terrorism. Not only can it prevent future attacks by disrupting their material support, the footprints of their purchases, withdrawals and other financial transactions can provide valuable information for ongoing investigations.”
This alliance of evil must be broken and destroyed. Unfortunately, in tackling insecurity, the Buhari regime places primordial sentiments over facts as now espoused by Fayemi. This is the reality Nigerians should face at the sub-national level. Governors should therefore be held responsible for the security of lives and property of their people. Without sentiment or partisanship, they should use anti-open grazing legislation to decongest forests and highways of herder jihadists. Open grazing of cattle provides a cover for bandits, terrorists and cross-border criminals to flourish. Local communities, too, have the right to protect themselves lawfully from violence. The governors should initiate community-based or self-protection strategies and support community-led protection efforts.
The 36 state governors should move from their belated acknowledgement of the failure of the existing single policing format, establish security agencies and mobilise for its immediate constitutional redress as a national emergency. Ultimately, the war on terror and banditry will be won by a strong political will to implement root-and-branch reform of Nigeria’s tottering structure.
PUNCH
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has come under criticism following its decision to alter the list of candidates that emerged from its National Assembly primaries, sparking fresh concerns over internal democracy and the credibility of its candidate selection process ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Opposition parties condemned the move, with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) accusing the ruling party of descending into confusion, the Labour Party (LP) describing the substitutions as undemocratic, and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) branding the action reckless.
The APC, however, defended the changes, insisting they reflected fairness and the wishes of party members. It also urged opposition parties to focus on resolving their own internal crises rather than commenting on its affairs.
The controversy followed the APC’s directive to its state chapters to submit the final list of candidates for the 2027 elections while issuing Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) nomination forms for completion.
Several aspirants who were initially declared winners alleged that they were replaced after the party’s May Primary Election Appeal Commission reviewed petitions arising from the primaries.
Reports indicate that the APC National Working Committee (NWC), acting on the appeal committee’s recommendations, overturned the victories of several senatorial candidates in nine states and restored six serving senators to the party’s final list.
Those reinstated include Sunday Karimi (Kogi West), Emmanuel Udende (Benue North-East), Titus Zam (Benue North-West), Shuaibu Isa Lau (Taraba North), Adeniyi Adegbonmire (Ondo Central), and Olajide Ipinsagba (Ondo North). In Abia South, Prince Paul Ikonne replaced Edinburgh Erondu.
Among those affected was former Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam, whose earlier victory in the Benue North-East primary was nullified in favour of incumbent Senator Emmanuel Udende.
The revised list has since generated internal disagreements and raised legal questions, particularly in light of INEC’s warning that it would reject the names of candidates who did not emerge from primaries monitored by the commission.
Reacting to the development, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Mohammed, described the changes as evidence of growing confusion within the APC, saying the opposition would take advantage of the situation ahead of the elections.
“With the change of the candidate list, there is confusion in the APC. Let them remain in confusion so that we can take advantage of it and reclaim power. It is not our duty to advise them on how to put their house in order,” he said.
The Labour Party also criticised the substitutions, insisting that candidates who emerge from valid primaries should not be replaced.
LP National Publicity Secretary, Ken Asogwa, said the party had consistently respected the outcome of its primaries, describing the APC’s action as a mockery of the Electoral Act and democratic principles.
“For us in the Labour Party, we have never removed the names of people who won our primaries and replaced them with those who did not. That is how democracy should be practised,” Asogwa said.
However, the National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, argued that political parties have the constitutional right to determine their candidates through internal mechanisms.
He noted that the Supreme Court had affirmed the authority of political parties to nominate candidates and stressed the need for aggrieved members to pursue available internal appeal and reconciliation processes.
Similarly, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) defended the APC’s action. Its National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, said the Electoral Act empowers political parties to manage their candidate selection process, including addressing irregularities through internal mechanisms.
He maintained that if a party identifies flaws in its primary process and opts to make adjustments in line with its constitution, it is within its rights to do so, while denying allegations that the NDC had imposed candidates.
The Oyo State Government has denied reports claiming it paid ransom to secure the release of pupils and teachers abducted by bandits in Oriire Local Government Area, describing the allegation as false and misleading.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, said the claim was “far from the truth” and accused “irresponsible bloggers” of deliberately spreading misinformation to confuse the public.
“Although both the Oyo State and Federal Governments have been making concerted efforts to secure the safe release of the abducted children and their teachers, no ransom has been paid to the bandits, either directly or indirectly,” Oyelade stated.
He urged residents to disregard the reports and rely only on information released through official government channels.
The commissioner added that the Oyo State Government is working closely with security agencies to ensure the safe release of the abductees and bring the incident to a successful conclusion.
The pupils and teachers were abducted on May 15 when armed bandits attacked three schools in the Yawota and Ahoro-Esienle communities of Oriire Local Government Area. The coordinated attack also claimed the life of a teacher.
The victims have remained in captivity since the attack, while the Oyo State Government, the Federal Government, and security agencies continue efforts to secure their freedom.
By Okey Maduforo, Awka
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has dismissed reports that aggrieved aspirants who lost the party’s primary elections are plotting to work against its candidates in the 2027 general elections.
Following the conclusion of the party’s primaries a few weeks ago, reports had alleged that some unsuccessful aspirants were considering supporting candidates of other political parties in protest, with the aim of undermining APGA’s chances at the polls.
However, APGA National Publicity Secretary, Mazi Ejimofor Opara, described the claims as false, insisting that the party remains united after a reconciliation meeting convened by Governor Charles Soludo.
“I am hearing this from you. As a party, we have not received any report of such a plot. Let me state clearly that all the aspirants have resolved to work for the success of the party in the 2027 general elections,” Opara said.
He explained that during the meeting held at the Light House in Awka, aspirants and candidates openly discussed issues arising from the primaries, stressing that none of the participants accused the party of conducting an unfair or non-transparent process.
“Everyone expressed their views about the primary elections. No one alleged that the process lacked transparency. The only concern expressed was that each aspirant had hoped to emerge victorious.
“At the end of the meeting, every misunderstanding, anxiety and misgiving surrounding the primaries was resolved, and the party remains one united family,” he added.
Opara also warned opposition parties against what he described as deliberate attempts to spread falsehoods and create disaffection within APGA.
He cautioned individuals engaging in cyberbullying and name-dropping for political purposes to desist, warning that the party would not hesitate to pursue legal action against anyone found defaming its members.
“This is nothing but cheap blackmail by the opposition. They should be mindful of the legal consequences of cyberbullying and name-dropping. We urge our party faithful and the general public to disregard these spurious reports,” he said.
This version improves grammar, flow, attribution, and readability while preserving the substance of the original report.
Former Minister Uche Nnaji
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has secured a court order permitting it to detain former Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Geoffrey Uchechukwu Nnaji, for an initial 14 days as investigations into alleged certificate forgery continue.
The remand order followed Nnaji’s arrest on Wednesday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, shortly after he arrived from Enugu aboard a chartered flight.
According to an official of the anti-graft agency, the court-approved remand will enable investigators to interrogate the former minister over the allegations, with the possibility of seeking an extension should further investigation require additional time.
Nnaji was apprehended following the execution of a bench warrant earlier issued by the Federal High Court after he allegedly failed to honour several invitations extended by the commission.
The ICPC subsequently confirmed the arrest in an official statement signed by its spokesperson, John Odey, stating that the former minister is in the commission’s custody as investigations continue into allegations bordering on the forgery of academic credentials and a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate allegedly submitted during his ministerial screening process.
By Okey Maduforo Awka
Despite the Federal High Court pronouncement against the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC ) in Anambra state, the National Working Committee( NWC) of the party has issued nomination forms to candidates of the National and state Assemblies of the party .
Recall that the Federal High Court Abuja had ruled that Sen Emma Anosike is not the Chairman of the party; a judgement that is unsettling party in the area which the plaintiffs denied knowledge of the suit insisting that it is a kangaroo pronouncement.
The affected state executive members, Bright Osemeka, Mrs Ify Chinwoko Nzekwe and Amaechi Chinweze had contended that they never filed any action challenging the leadership of Sen Emma Anosike adding that they remain loyal to the Anosike led executive.
According to the Deputy National Organizing Secretary of the party Mr Emeka Okafor ;
“The Federal High Court pronounent did not mention the nominated candidates of the party for the National and state Assembly elections and we have issued nomination forms to the candidates”
“Again the matter neither joined the nominated candidates nor had any legal position on the primary elections of the party in Anambra state hence the nominated candidates remain our candidates for Anambra state ” he said.
Recall that Sen Emma Anosike as at the period of the primary elections was the Chairman of the party an exercise that was adjudged peaceful and transparent by the National Working Committee of the party and the Election Committee sent to the state by the Leadership of the party in Abuja .
Similarly, the expelled members of the party did not take part in the election following the suit filed by them against the party in Anambra state.
They were suspended by the party because the party found out that they did not explore the laid down avenues of conflict or dispute resolutions before heading to the Court which the party stated that it is against the constitution of the party which also stipulates outright expulsion.
Meanwhile it is not clear if the said Chairman of the party who the Court endorsed has taken over the party Secretarate in Awka , nor has he convened any meeting of the party; a development that has deepened the unsettled state of affairs of the party .
It is however gathered that sustained legal battle is on in Abuja over the said judgement as the crisis lasts .
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