FOLLOWING the shut down of telecommunication services in northwestern states, the Senator representing Sokoto East Senatorial District, Ibrahim Gobir, has alleged that bandits now communicate freely with their informants, using the networks of the Niger Republic.
Gobir made this known in an interview with Punch.
The lawmaker, who moved a motion that led to a Senate resolution designating bandits as terrorists, lamented that over 50,000 of his constituents are currently taking refuge in the Niger Republic while no fewer than 600,000 had been killed by the bandits.
He noted with concern that the situation worsened recently when the military launched an onslaught against the bandits in Zamfara and the criminals had to flee to safe havens in Kaduna, Sokoto, Niger and Katsina states.
Gobir faulted the operational strategy adopted by the military and wondered why the onslaught was not launched simultaneously in all the states where the bandits could escape while feeling the impact of the military’s heavy attacks.
The Senate had on Wednesday, following Gobir’s motion, asked the President Buhari to declare bandits as terrorists in the country. The red chamber also asked the commander-in-chief of the Armed forces to wage a total war against the criminals including bombing all their locations to annihilate and eliminate them.
The Senate equally asked Buhari to declare all known leadership of the bandits wanted and track them wherever they were, for arrest and prosecution.
The lawmaker lamented that Sokoto East Senatorial District had now become a haven for bandits, following a crackdown on them by the military in Zamfara State.
He said, “There is no section of Sokoto East Senatorial District that has not been attacked in one way or the other. It is becoming a real problem. Most of our areas are very close to the Niger Republic.
“With the shutting down of telecommunications networks to prevent communication between the bandits and their informants, we have discovered that the bandits are now using the telecommunications network of the Niger Republic so that they can be communicating.
“That is why they decided to relocate to my constituency. So, they now use the services of the Niger Republic and they have been speaking to one another and their informants.
“Our people in the area are also taking the advantage of the services of the communication network of the Niger Republic to speak among themselves.
“Before the crisis escalated, our people usually called the Army with the network of Nigerian service providers until they were shut down.
“Now there is nothing like that and this is part of the problems we have. The major problem we have is the lack of coordination because when you are going for a military onslaught, you need to consider all the frontline areas like Niger, Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara and Sokoto states.
“The military should have carried out operations in all these areas simultaneously so that bandits cannot escape from either of the five states to another.
“Unfortunately, the bandits are running away from states where there is a heavy military presence to areas that are safe for them.
“There must be synergy among the security agencies. The bandits are now terrorists and they can be bombed anywhere.
“Despite the situation, however, I am not going to call for the restoration of the network because the shutdown was done for a purpose which is to prevent contacts with bandits. “The best approach is to embark on simultaneous onslaught.
“The military should start the type of operations that would make them visible in all the frontline states.
“I have never seen a situation like this in my life when someone would enter a village and start killing people and take away vulnerable ones for ransom. There are many towns that had been deserted completely due to the constant bandit attacks.”
