Wednesdays are market days in Banki town and the main attraction is the international cattle market. Traders come from across Nigeria and neighbouring countries of Cameroon and Chad. Smuggling activities are rife across the border. Very conspicuous is that of petrol which is conveyed in heaps of jerry cans loaded in Peugeot salon and station wagon vehicles and are generally undertaken by youths.
The road linking Banki from Bama which is about 48km and is now under construction, has only about four kilometres of its length tarred. Some portions have been graded and laid with laterite and gravel, while the remaining portions are full of potholes. A drive along the road in its present state is dusty and bumpy and is even worse in the rainy season.
The unmotorable nature of the road often forces motorists to drive at snail speed, off the main route through the indefinite desert routes and bush tracks, making travellers and traders easy prey to armed bandits. The porous nature of the entire region, its ill-defined and irregularly demarcated borders also encourage banditry.
Residential buildings across the borders in Banki town are closely sited and in some quarters, houses share fences, while in other instances, houses have two gates – each located on each sides of the border.
There is also free movement of people and vehicles among locals across the border. Beside the border post, a road provides unrestricted access to vehicles and motorcycles, while trucks conveying goods are subjected to checks by men of the Nigeria Customs Service.
Interestingly, electricity supply on the Nigerian side of Banki is provided from Cameroon. Sunday Trust investigations reveal that there are strict regulations to the fact that only genuine card-carrying and certified Cameroonian citizens can possess electricity meters, to ensure regulated billing from consumption. But it was learnt that people connive to use Cameroonian national identity cards to obtain electricity meters so as to enjoy constant electricity supply.
It was also discovered that tax collection, as well as enforcement of immigration laws, are conducted on both sides independently. Conspicuous at the entry points are the jointly occupied offices of the Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigeria Immigrations. There is also a divisional police headquarters which operates 13 security checkpoints along the Bama-Banki route.
Yet, smugglers of all kinds of items, including petrol, have a field day, as long as they pay their dues by stopping along the checkpoints for money ( for as little as N10) to exchange hands with security men. Those who do not give willingly are compelled to do so as barricades are placed on their path following which an unnecessary question and answer session ensures. Others try to beat the checkpoints and veer off the bad road into the bush tracks, risking attacks by armed bandits.
Interestingly, most Nigerians in Banki, especially traders at the market on the Nigerian side, are resident on the Cameroonian side. Further enquiries reveal that the traders, especially those of Igbo extraction, who deal in electronics, prefer living on the Cameroonian side because it ensures the safety of their lives and property from armed robbers during the day and at night as well.
Kumshe is easy prey
Because of its proximity to Banki, Kumshe District with headquarters at Kumshe town, located about 12km east of Banki town, has over the years, become prey to armed banditry attacks. The ancient rural setting with an estimated population of about 6,000 people (2006 census Figures) remains underdeveloped despite its 100 years of existence.
Now led by 29-year-old Alhaji Ba’Shehu Abba Yerwama, the 14th in the lineage of District Heads (a position he has held for two years after his father’s death), Kumshe has an abandoned secondary school and an unfenced ‘open’ prison facility located in front of the District Head’s court. The prison is barricaded with ropes strung together to keep hold of metal poles and sticks stuck to the ground. There is also a dormant Shariah Court, a market which sits every Saturday, as well as an ill-equipped police outpost and primary healthcare centre.
A feeder road through a loamy terrain makes Kumshe inaccessible during the rainy season. This road also leads to Gulumba, Woloji and parts of Kala Balge Local government area. The entire district is surrounded by scattered thorny shrubs, small trees and tropical savannah grasslands. The soil type makes most parts of the area liable to flood and can be water logged.
The scenario
Locals say the armed bandits led to the closure of the only bank which operated in Banki. Trading is now undertaken using traditional means, whereby large sums of money are physically handled in the open. This phenomenon has made it easy for the bandits to use informants to identify traders with large sums of money concealed in sacks.
It is widely known among the locals that the bandits can ascertain the wealth and worth of a village through ‘invincible’ informants and this, our correspondent gathered, was what compelled the District Head of Kumshe to introduce the concept of community policing.
But the raids were also taking place in other districts. Yet, there was no evidence to show and not a single person has come to formally lay complaints. So, basing his arguments on the incessant rumours that filtered in daily, and the threats by communities to relocate to neighbouring Cameroon where their security is guaranteed, the District Head sought help through the Bama Emirate Council from the local and state governments.
“The villages that have been under constant attacks in the district are Aburasiri, Bembem, Furia (I, II, and III), Gau, Kodoi, Na’awa and Ndawaza, majority of which are in remote (some about 10-15km to the Cameroonian borders) with large livestock population. But the entire districts of Kumshe, Walasa, Anchaka, Gulumba and even parts of Kala Balge, were being raided on a daily basis. So, the district heads met and had a pact to expose acts of banditry in the area.
“The entire people swore to an oath with the Holy Qur’an never to give out their wealth to the bandits again. They have also sworn never to give shelter, food, directions to a village, or engage in any form of transactions or interactions with the bandits, and to help each other during invasion by the armed bandits”, Alhaji Yerwama told Sunday Trust.
Convinced that if they violate the oath, they shall be consumed by its potency, the people have become their brothers’ keepers by responding and giving assistance to villagers who cry out through phone calls. This, our correspondent discovered has drastically reduced the number of successful raids because during this visit, villagers confessed to have just returned from responding to a distress call. They were successful in chasing away the bandits through their collective efforts.
Sunday Trust investigations uncovered that when the armed bandits invade a village, they usually fix a ransom and date of remittance and people could not report to constituted authority because of fears owing to their remote location. This made the raids to continue unabated. News of raids and payment of ransoms of between N1 million and N2.5 million, intermittently filter in as rumours to the traditional rulers. Since there are no evidence, it became very difficult for them to lay formal complaints and justify urgent security needs, our reporter gathered.
Inside security sources also reveal that the police have also devised ways of infiltrating populations in the area, to identify people who have fallen victims to the bandits’ invasion, to interrupt their decisions to ‘sell-off’ their cattle and/or farm produce to pay off ransoms.
The people’s experiences
Sunday Trust investigations reveal that the bizarre phenomenon of armed banditry is not new in the area. Sources say similar daring attacks were launched against people in the area in 1974 and security authorities battled ceaselessly to end the siege.
Hell was again let loose when about 7 months ago, coordinated invasions commenced. Dogo Kalamugdo, an Igboman whose physical appearance and nine years adaptation to the village of Kalamugdo must have earned him his name, combines farming with running a pub where liquor and bush meat pepper soup are sold. We (myself and my guide, Mustapha, who was painstakingly sought out by the District Head of Kumshe) exchanged pleasantries at the town’s entrance).
Upon introduction and further enquiries, he said, “in fact, it was a surprising thing to me because since I was there, na only my third year dey come and surrounded the house. But it was not very serious like this one. They started shooting around 6 o’clock in the morning and make us fear. Dem force us to sell-off all our livestock and keep the money for them. But before then, everybody vacated and relocated to Wadza, in Cameroon and I went to stay in another village called Ndabaza. One week after, three of them came again with guns. They said we want to kill you because you come from Kalamugdo. I tell dem, no, I stay at Kalamugdo but I am Igbo man by tribe and dey leave me and go. And since then, I come back to Banki and stay [sic]”, Mr Kalamugdo narrated.
As he concluded, we began our journey by 11.20am, setting out to the east and arrived at our first destination, Gau village (a Kanuri population of 95 households of thatched and mud huts with about 300 residents).The trip took us about one hour on Mustapha’s ancient but reliable Suzuki motorcycle.
The District Head’s painstaking effort proved very useful, because at first, the villagers were apprehensive. But after explaining that we had the blessings of the District Head, followed by a lengthy familiarization discussion in either Kanuri or Shuwa Arab dialects, they became freer. It was later discovered that their apprehension resulted from the fear instilled in them by bandits who always threatened to kill them if they divulge any information.
At Gau, it was learnt that 25 Fulani, Shuwa Arab and Kanuri speaking men armed with 21 AK47 rifles, wearing face caps and dark goggles, stormed and surrounded the village on a Sunday morning around 6.15am about 7 months ago.They demanded for a N2.5 million ransom, two sheep, crates of ‘Coca Cola’ and ‘Fanta’, three measures of sugar and a half measure of tea leaf, and a calabash of cola nut.
According to Bulama Kadir, 25, whose fury showed as he narrated their ordeals recalling how his brother was slain. “Two of them wore Nigerian army khaki uniforms, while two others wore Chadian army khaki uniforms. They met me and asked me to take them to the village head. I thought they were soldiers and was wondering why they were here. But they instructed the Bulama to assemble us all , and they herded us out to a location nearby. After they stated their demand, they left around 9.00 am and said all the items must be ready in 10 days , when they shall return to collect them. They said if the ransom was one kobo short, they will kill some of us. When they came back, they camped outside the village and instructed us to bring the ransom to them. I was part of the people detailed to deliver the ransom to them. They even asked us to slaughter and prepare the animals for them. But we just dropped the money and items and ran away.”
“They also snatched my elder brother’s motorcycle and killed him. He was on his way from a neighbouring village market when they met on the way. This was about 7 months ago, because it was a week after they chased away the people of Kalamugdo”, he narrated.
In all the villages visited, stories abound of how the bandits operate with impunity. At Kodoi village, a conjoined settlement, 25 Fulani speaking young male bandits, armed with AK 47 rifles, forced one of the village heads, 35-year-old Bulama Bukar Alhaji Ali out of his hut around 4.00 pm and instructed him to gather all the people, taking them to a location outside the village where other armed bandits were camped and said, “your mandate is to pay N4 million ‘they said. ‘But we did not accept the ransom because we knew we could not raise that kind of money. They tried to force us to pay the sum, but we told them that we couldn’t. Eventually, they pegged the ransom at N2 million and said we should sell off our cattle to raise the sum. They also forced us (the two Bulamas) to take an oath promising to fulfil the pledge and left, saying they will return in 15 days for the ransom, failing which they will kill us, the two village heads. ”
Eventually, the villagers sold 80 cows to pay the ransom. Left with only 50 cows (most of which are calves) after he sold 70 to ensure that the ransom was paid, Bulama Ali who has three wives and 12 children revealed that he had just returned from a neighbouring village after receiving news on phone that the village was under attack. “You know we have all sworn to an oath to protect each other and expose the bandits and this means we will lay down our lives for one another. People from nearby villages also responded to the alert and we succeeded in chasing away the bandits. If they come back again now, we shall never pay ransom to them again”, he said.
The claim by many that the bandits had cohorts amongst the people of the district was later discovered to be true, as it was Bembem, a village located east of Kumshe town and headquarters of Kumshe district, that served as the harbour for the bandits. This is about 45minutes journey on motorcycle. The journey to the dreaded village is along footpaths with thorny shrubs, trees and grasses. Here, it was that they converged after every outing to ‘wine and dine’, alongside women whom they brought to the village to run restaurants and pubs and share their beds at night.
At Furia, comprising three closely-knit Shuwa Arab settlements named Furai I, II and III, 35-year-old Kilado Adam said about a month ago, 18 Fulani armed bandits, all dressed in military khaki uniforms , invaded the three villages on a Tuesday. According to him, “they gathered everybody in front of the lead village head’s hut and speaking our dialect (Shuwa Arab), asked us to pay N3 million ransom. We pleaded and they eventually accepted that we pay N1 million and they said they were returning in two days. So we took 26 of our cattle to the Banki market and sold them, because we knew that if we failed to pay up, they were going to kill us. As expected, they turned up for the ransom on Thursday, but wearing civilian clothes.”
At about 3pm, we arrived at Keshkesh, a Shuwa Arab community, located about 50km away from Banki town. This was where a battle ensued between the raiding armed bandits and some villagers, who eventually killed two. I was still wondering how they could have succeeded after all the tales so far, because the settlement was vulnerable like the others, as it was located in the hinterland, even further away from the district headquarters than the others.
Dark-skinned, stout and agile-looking, Bulama Tom of Keshkesh sat beneath a tree on a mat undisturbed. A charm hung on his neck. Beside him was Ramat Juddum, another villager preparing charms, which he said was for protection against gun shots and any metal object.
He recalls the invasion by the six Fulani, French and Shuwa Arab speaking armed bandits. “We do not have a large cattle stock, like people from the other villages. But they came and asked us to pay N1million. We told them we don’t have that kind of money, and they said we must provide the sum before they conclude their magrib (sunset) prayers. They said if we fail to do so, they were going to react.
“After their prayers, they came back for the ransom. We repeatedly told them we couldn’t afford it. They aimed to shoot at us with their guns (AK47) but the guns failed to fire.
“Some of us shot back with their Dane guns and two of them fell. We then threw poisoned spears at them, which we eventually used to stab them to death. At this point, the others took to their heels and ran away. We then took the bandits’ two AK 47 rifles, which we later handed over to the security forces”, he narrated.
He said they were left with no option but to resist the armed bandits, because they didn’t have such money. “We are peasant farmers and menial labourers who engage in tree chopping or farm labour, as our source of livelihood. We also engage in subsistence farming. So rather than pledge to pay what we cannot and in the end, get into trouble, it was better we didn’t. We even offered them food to eat and one sheep. But they refused and insisted we pay the N1 million ransom”, he explained.
Juddum added that the armed bandits didn’t know they had charms to protect them from guns. “It is sacred, and we only give it out on the condition that you take an oath and swear with the Holy Qur’an that you are not going to use it in any evil way”, he said about the wonder charms and confidently added: “We are not afraid of being invaded, not even by 100 armed bandits.”
The situation now
Before the battle of Keshkesh, the situation had gone out of hand and the military had to intervene to rescue people kidnapped from different villages because they could not pay ransom. As a result, a military patrol team now frequents the entire area. During this visit, the heavily armed military team was sighted in two trucks at 7.30am around the Mararaba Junction, about 45km from Banki town, returning to base in Bama for a change in shift.
There are also the 13 security check points along the Bama-Banki road, but the security agencies say they are handicapped. They complained of non-availability of terrain-specific vehicles, sophisticated weapons and communication gadgets and personnel, to check the infiltration of bandits through bush tracks that are inaccessible and which are even made worse during the rainy season.
They also argue that though the Nigerian Army 202 Battalion is located in Bama town, citing a military base in Banki or somewhere close , would ensure more physical presence and constant patrol along the routes, as compared to the present security arrangement that provides a patrol team of armed military men, with only two patrol vehicles and a few personnel.
Reacting to the palpable insecurity in the area, the Borno State Army Public Relations Officer, Lieutenant Abubakar Abdullahi, said there is need for government to deploy more troops to the area to curtail the excesses of foreigners who have easy access to the territory across the porous borders.
Further, the newly posted Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Banki town, Umar Ango, informed our correspondent that the 13 security police check points along the Bama-Banki road were introduced to stem routine attacks by the armed bandits, especially on market days and on market eves. He too lamented that security measures taken so far are being jeopardised by the absence of specific demarcations along the borders, which makes policing almost impossible.
“Recently, my men were pursuing a criminal who ran into the Cameroonian side of the border. They could not follow him because there are strict laws guiding inter-border policing. When we eventually contacted the Cameroonian authorities, they impounded the vehicle (a Peugeot 504) and released it to us without the suspect. We later found out that when he was arrested, the sum of N80,000 was found on him and with it, he ensured his release,” DPO Ango complained.
He praised the community policing effort introduced by the District Head of Kumshe which did the arrest of one Babagana Bukar, the alleged leader of the notorious gang and the impounding of an unlicensed motorcycle, which investigations reveal was used in their operations. Both have been handed over to the state Criminal Investigative Department (CID) of the Borno State Police Command and investigations are on-going.
The people’s plight
It was glaring that farming and the rearing of livestock are the major occupations around the district. Lack of potable water was evident, as children and women were seen on foot and on donkeys, embarking on long journeys in search of water, as well as to meet other domestic needs.
In Kaltume, one of the villages, a frail looking woman in her 60s sat beneath a tree, resting on its trunk. In front of her were three calabashes of different sizes filled with guinea corn. Her feet were dried and so were those of her shy daughters’. Both were dried and cracked. She tried to explain their predicament with the task ahead of her. “It takes a whole day’s journey to the nearest village where there is a grinding machine to grind the grains. We spend the night there and then begin the journey back the next day after grinding the grains. Getting water to drink is also a challenge,” she lamented.
“We are in dire need of water and we have been making complaints through the District Head to the state government for the past 10 years. If government wants us to continue staying here, they should provide potable water for us. If they do not, we shall relocate to neighbouring Cameroon around Wadza and Benderi, where water and security are available. You may find this difficult to believe, but the absence of water is more devastating to us than the much talked about invasion by the armed bandits. Right now, we pay N550 for a drum (about 220litres) of water, including cost of transportation from either Cameroon (about 40km) or Banki (about 50km). These are conveyed in trucks because of their weight and the distance”, said Bulama Tom of Keshkesh.
In all the villages, insecurity and lack of water are the hydra -headed monsters bedevilling the inhabitants, but it appears things could be changing. Last week, three households from amongst the people of Kalamugdo, who relocated to Cameroon about seven months ago, following insecurity caused by constant invasion by armed bandits and lack of basic amenities like water, have returned following the new pact amongst the people, as well as the new security arrangements.
They were said to have left at the peak of the rainy season, after about 50 armed bandits with sophisticated weapons, tried to force them to sell their cows ahead of a market day and pay ransom. Sources say the option became evident because the area became inaccessible and help could not reach them from the Nigerian authorities. Worse still, they could only defend themselves with dane guns, which become useless in the rains.
It was learnt that the District Head of Kumshe, the mobile police Area Commander and the LG representative , tried to dissuade them from leaving, informing them that government has already commenced the process of providing a permanent solution to their problems and funds would be ready in about 10 days. But they must have lost patience and they left five days later. Governor Ali Modu Sheriff was said to have instructed the District Head to go in search of them and when some of them were eventually located, a meeting was scheduled between the few who were sought which Governor Sheriff personally attended along with other stakeholders. They were told that security measures have already been taken to avert any such future occurrence, and funds would be provided for their resettlement. But they were adamant and refused to return, until now.
Reliable sources say the rest are expected in about two weeks. The state government said it has provided funds for their resettlement as well as the provision of basic infrastructure and improved security. The people are still sceptical and a delegation led by the member representing Gulumba/Woloji/Kumshe Federal Constituency, Alhaji Rawa Goni Bukar, visited the three households who returned to show government’s seriousness. Also present were Bama local government chairman, Alhaji Kullima Kachalla and the District Heads of Gulumba, Kumshe and Woloji, whose domains are all affected.
But despite the heavy security presence, intermittent raids are still happening. On Wednesday, December 15, 2010, around 6.20pm after the police patrol vehicle had just returned to Banki for the day (usually around 6pm), the armed bandits mounted a road block about three kilometres from a town called Dar-El-Jamal, which is about 20 kilometres from Banki.
As the vehicle in which our correspondent was travelling approached, dozens of cars had parked by the roadside and people stopped everyone to inform them of the danger ahead. It was later gathered that some travellers who had fallen victim, informed the police at the next checkpoint, who in turn informed police officers at subsequent checkpoints.
As the dozens of cars and the multitude of passengers waited for a signal to indicate that the road was safe, some people began to flee in the direction of Banki with an alarm that the robbers were racing in our direction. Cars screeched and reversed at top speed. Others who could turned and drove at break neck speed for kilometres, while people who had dropped from their vehicles fled in different directions. It was chaotic, but nothing happened.
While this lasted, someone telephoned the DPO at Banki and mobile policemen from the security check points ahead were mobilized to tackle the bandits who eventually ran off into Cameroon territory.
As we moved on, we noticed a group of people walking towards Bama. Ahead was a raided pickup truck, and it seemed the people on foot were its occupants. The doors of the truck were flung wide open and their luggage scattered all over. We drove on and luckily, nothing happened afterwards. Sunday Trust however learnt that before the interventions, as many as three raids take place daily, while the invasion of the villagers happen on a daily basis.
