Bandits still holding North by jugular, says Emirate Council

The Ahijo of the Mubi Emirate Council of Adamawa in Adamawa State, Suleiman Ibrahim, on Wednesday insisted that criminals like bandits and others in different guise are still holding many communities in the North “by the jugular”.

This is just as the former Director at Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), Mr Jeremiah Adamu, demanded stiffer punishments for kidnappers in the country, saying without that, kidnapping would continue to thrive.

Ibrahim, who spoke in Abuja during the security dialogue session on community-based solutions to address kidnapping, specifically said many residents of those communities in the North still pay dues to bandits and other criminals before they can access their farms.

Daily Trust reports that the security dialogue among traditional rulers was organised by the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC) and supported by the United Kingdom National Crime Agency.

Speaking further, the traditional ruler said naming ceremony, particularly in some communities in both Zamfara and Sokoto, could not be held without taking permission from the criminals who are still terrorising the northern region of the country.

The traditional ruler, however, called for synergy between security agencies and the traditional rulers, stressing that the only way to address these ongoing criminalities is to make the solutions community-based by allocating constitutional roles for monarchs being the closest to the citizens.

Ibrahim said, “Today in Isa LGA of Sokoto State, farmers can’t access farms without paying dues. In Zamfara, Dansadau in Zamfara State, you can’t celebrate naming ceremony without approval from criminals. Today, traditional rulers are targets of criminals. 

“We are traditional leaders, the closest government to the Nigerian people, but we are handcuffed by constitutional responsibility. No salaries and 98.9% of us are volunteers. We are conditioned by tradition, and we spend everything to serve our communities.”

On his part, a former Director at DIA, Adamu, called for stiffer punishments for kidnappers, stressing that the current punishment for anyone found guilty is not deterrent enough to dissuade criminals from engaging in the crime.