…Calls on military to enhance drones to intercept bikes moving in groups

The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has expressed deep worry on the killing of army personnel during an attack on the military base, Benisheikh, Borno State, on Thursday; an attack on a poultry farm in Ondo State, killings and abductions in Plateau, Kwara, Niger and Kaduna states, among others.

The organisation’s latest concern was contained in a press statement issued by its national publicity secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi.

Reports have it that the Commanding Officer of Bnisheikh military base, Brigadier General Oseni Braimah, was killed on Thursday morning, just as military bases in Pulka and Munguno, Plateau state, were attacked.

In a similar vein, a poultry farm in Igushi Ala, Akure North Local Government Area, Ondo State, was attacked, with the poultry farmer and her daughter killed while three workers, including the farmer’s sister, were abducted by their attackers.

This mirrored what happened in the Vole community in Bokkos local government area, Plateau state and in some communities in Kwara and Niger states – all happening around the same time.

It would be recalled that a few weeks ago, some kidnappers attacked Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) in Ibadan and abducted five people who came from Abeokuta, Ogun State, as well as rustlers and bank robbers’ attacks in Oke-ogun and Ibarapa areas of Oyo State. Attacks on Benue, Katsina and Plateau etc are raising so much concern, leading to President Bola Tinubu’s visit to Plateau state last week.

Reviewing various acts of banditry and terrorism occurring in different parts of the country in recent times, Ajayi submitted that insecurity in Nigeria has increased due to a number of factors such as internal sabotage and complicity among security agencies, complicity between bandits and some locals in given communities, possible sponsorship by foreign interests who set their eyes on Nigeria’s mineral resources as well as possible complicity by political actors.

For instance, as far back as May, 2025, Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum had, in a television interview, declared that: “We have informants and collaborators within the Nigerian armed forces, within the politicians, and within the communities… Let’s remove contractocracy. In six months, we can put an end to this madness. We need not politicise insecurity.”

The current Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa, too, then in his capacity as Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), disclosed that some military personnel have been betraying the army by leaking vital information to bandits.

He spoke during his visit to Yetwata in Benue state in June 2025, following the massacre of many people and the burning of houses in the communities around that area. He had said:

“If you see the pattern of killings and slaughtering, it means there is an insider. As we were going round, it became obvious that the killings and burnings were targeted…”

Ajayi said that the authorities concerned should beam a lot of searchlight on their internal mechanism and the elements listed above, viz: internal sabotage and complicity among security agencies, collusion between badits and some locals in given communities, foreign interests who set their eyes on Nigeria’s mineral resources, as well as some possible unscrupulous political actors.

He buttressed his point by pointing to the patterns of several attacks that have taken place. “Reports always have it that bandits usually move into their targets on motorbikes.

Since these cyclists are always armed, dressed in a manner that easily shows them as bandits and move in convoys, there are reasons for security agencies to intercept them.”

He went further to state that drones and other sundry surveillance devices, including CCTV, do not fail to spot these bandits moving in such convoys. The problem has always been the use to which the information so gathered was put.

Going by the ease with which these bandits carry out their evil acts often without challenge, it means that they have informants, protectors and sponsors among the elements or agents that should tackle them.

How terrorists struck in the government secondary, Maga, Kebbi state, a few hours after the military withdrew from the school, as also happened in Woro in Kwara State, could be referenced here.

“Thus, it is high time that greater self-examination is done and necessary steps taken if the war against insecurity in Nigeria is to be won.”

Afenifere added that as part of the measures that can be taken even before state police takes off, suspected backers of bandits can be persuaded to encourage their protégés to submit their weapons as occurred during the administration of late President Ya Adua, while appropriate sanctions as prescribed by law can then be invoked on them.