Frequent acts of violent crime have grown to form a major threat to Nigeria’s national security. All of these revolve around militancy, insurgency and banditry.
As identified by the Nigerian government, the activities of bandits, involving kidnapping and the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) are the major security threats the country is currently battling with.
Kidnapping, a major activity of bandits in some parts of the North is targeted at individuals or at groups. School children have been mostly kidnapped in recent times. Usually, the prime targets for ransom are those considered to be wealthy enough to pay a fee in exchange for being freed but that has since changed because of the random activities of the criminals.
At the moment, Nigeria has one of the world’s highest rates of kidnap-for-ransom cases. Other countries high up on the list included Venezuela, Mexico, Yemen, Syria, the Philippines, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.
Thousands of Nigerians, including women and children have been kidnapped for ransom and other purposes over the years as it has prevailed in spite of measures put in place by the government.
The demands of the bandits have not been well-spelt out despite claims by popular Kaduna-based cleric, Sheik Gumi, that “they have decided their way of life because they are victims of circumstance and marginalization.”
“I think it is a population that is pushed by circumstances into criminality.” He had said.
On the other hand, the IPOB, proscribed as terrorists by the Federal Government on 18 September, 2017, are demanding a sovereign state of theirs, away from Nigeria, over the feeling of marginalization, as led by Nnamdi Kanu.
The rising cases of kidnapping and killings by suspected herdsmen have given them a new direction, leading IPOB to the formation of the Eastern Security Network (ESN) for the protection of their land from invaders.
This has led to several clashes between the group and the Nigerian Army in some parts of Eastern Nigeria, making it a case of national security concern.
On his part, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, noted the difference between the bandits and IPOB. He said the IPOB does not believe in the unity of Nigeria, while bandits are just criminals.
His words, “When a group is championing a course for the disintegration of Nigeria… A group like IPOB (that) does not even recognise Nigeria as a state, sets up its own army and thinks it is a sovereign state, is different from bandits and criminals. Please, don’t compare apples and oranges.”
He said, “Security challenges are one thing. Challenging the sovereignty of Nigeria is a completely different thing. Don’t let us dwell on semantics.”
While the IPOB appear to be selective in their attack and seek to protect the South-Eastern region of the country, bandits in the north have no selective targets as their victims have not fallen to any sides.
Both groups have strong holds in specific regions of the country but the IPOB’s ‘primary target is the government while that of bandits are the masses.
The group that holds the highest threat can only be ascertained based on perspective but apparently, the government sees IPOB as the greatest threat because they may seize to exist if Nigeria divides while the masses seek to live to be a part of Nigeria.
