Why bandits are difficult to defeat militarily — Col Samaila Yombe (rtd), civil war veteran

•Narrates how terrorists abducted Kebbi 

Deputy Speaker while praying in mosque

 By Kennedy Mbele

Colonel Samaila Yombe (rtd) is one of the veterans of the Nigerian civil war. The 

infantry officer fought in the war since the start in 1967 to the time it ended in 

1970. Yombe also served as Deputy Governor of Kebbi State, 2015 -2019. The retired military officer is not new to terrorists as his convoy was attacked by suspected bandits in 2022. In this monitored interview, Yombe discusses the escalating security challenges in the North-West and proffers solutions. Excerpts:

What is your take on President Tinubu’s recent directives to the National Assembly to enact laws that would allow state police while ordering the army and the police to recruit more personnel as well as relevant security agencies to deploy their men to flush out bandits from the nation’s forests?

 I prefer to start by looking at Kebbi as a state and, of course, other states that are bordering it and to emphasize that Kebbi does not have forests or locations where these bandits hide. They come in from Sokoto State, Zamfara State, Niger Republic and Niger State.

That has been the case. But, when we took over the governance of Kebbi State in 2015, the situation had not escalated as it is today. Be that as it may, we still had a lot of encroachments from Zamfara and that’s why Kebbi South is experiencing most of these bandit activities. Look at what is happening today, it is worrisome. We must bear in mind that the action of these bandits is difficult to deal with militarily in the sense that they appear from directions that the soldiers are not prepared for. Can you imagine if you are standing, facing south and someone behind you gives you a slap? You have to turn around to look at where he is. But, if he comes directly to you, you will know that this fellow is coming for me and you will be prepared and know how to handle whatever combat situation he is facing you with. That’s what has been the major problem and the security agents find it difficult to handle the tactical situation of bandits. Now, I appreciate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for deciding that we have to reinforce our security assets by recruiting more soldiers, policemen, forest guards and so on because of the escalation of the problem and the limited availability of the forces to deal with it. By the time state police are formed and other security assets made available, we will be able to deal with the situation squarely. I appreciate the President for taking the step he has taken.

 What do you think is responsible for the recent escalation of the security situation in Kebbi and what do you think should be done to prevent possible abuse of the proposed state policing?

 I think Mr President has already taken care of the deficiency in terms of security assets to cover this situation in the large portion of the forests where these bandits hide. We should understand that due to the nature of the terrain, it’s difficult to traverse, cover and take military actions against the bandits. They take advantage of that to hide in those forests and hills. But, by the time these forces are made available to reinforce whatever security assets we have on ground, I think the situation will be history. But until we are able to occupy the forests physically, we will not be able to clear the bandits. They take advantage of the vast nature of the forests and, of course, the limited availability of our troops to cover that portion of the forests. Unless that which the President has taken care of now is put in place, we will still have the problem of kidnapping here and there, stealing, etc 

What about the things you think should be put in place to avoid abuse of the state police?

 The first thing is proper training of security agents and the de-radicalizing of those who have been disengaged. But, I find it difficult to understand why some of us… Most of these activities have some political undertone. Therefore, our politicians must be educated. Everybody now knows the negative vices of kidnapping and unrest, generally. There is no part of this country that is not affected by one security issue or the other. We have to really re-arrange our minds into thinking the best way to handle whatever situation to ensure peace. This involves even those who are backing, because a lot of people suspect that these bandits are backed by politicians. I don’t want to argue about that but whatever the case may be, we have to face it squarely. This is our country. If we don’t face it squarely, we are not going to enjoy what is available for us in this country. I can’t imagine why the Deputy Speaker (of Kebbi House) was on his way to his village and suddenly some group of people from the bush came and stole him. Steal a human being! It is absurd. We must re-arrange our mind to know that nobody will do this except us. We have to do it ourselves. Our religious fathers from different denominations will have to look at it with the fear of God. You can’t be stealing people and subjecting them to some kind of hardship and think

 Can you tell us more about the Deputy Speaker’s abduction?

 Let’s look at those who are involved in this kidnapping and the insecurity situation in Kebbi State. From the west, the state is bordered by Niger Republic. There, we are faced with the group called Lakurawa from Sahel countries and they don’t live in Nigeria. They cross the border because of the porous nature, come in and create all kinds of havoc and then go back. So, the case of the Deputy Speaker, he was in the mosque, he had just finished praying when people walked in and abducted him and rode on their motorcycles back into the forest outside the country. I don’t have details of how he was rescued but I learnt it involved the DSS and some military personnel that went in and got him out. I am glad that he came out in one piece, though he had a sad story to tell.

 So you suspect that those who abducted him with motorcycle took him out of the country?

 Exactly. There is no space for them in Kebbi State, specifically, but in Niger where you have a large portion of forest. From Gwazero up to Kwara State is uninhabited. They take advantage of this empty forest by using it as their cover. So, those who abducted the Deputy Speaker meandered around that forest; that was where our security agents went and brought him out. I observed that these guys (bandits) are afraid to die too. The moment you offer some kind of resistance, they will abandon their mission and take to their heels. So, with the present development, I am sure our military will adopt tactics that will match the offensive nature of these bandits.

 Can you make your position clearer on the issue of state police; do you think it will or will not work?

 No, it can work. We have very good police officers who are up and doing and they have demonstrated that in the past. You see, it’s when you have bad leadership that you will have problem. I am happy to see that the police are fishing out those bad eggs in their midst, to straighten out whatever deficiency they have in their performance. Yes, politicians, of course, you know very well that those that failed to be elected, too, have different kinds of feelings. Some of our politicians can go to any length to make sure that those who won are discredited. These things are happening, they are not hidden. We have opposition that are carrying out certain activities or saying many things that would make the governors appear bad. Police and the military and those who are involved in the security operations are doing very well but the issue is the escalation of the problem and the limited nature of security agents. That is what has made it so difficult to appreciate.

 Can you share some of the limitations you observed in that region?

 The major limitation is the number of security agents available and the equipment they need to work with. The bandits or whoever they are, their numbers are little but are highly mobile and they know the area very well. We don’t have enough forces to cover the kind of tactics being used by these bandits, but now Mr. President has tackled the issue of shortage of manpower. I am not saying capacity. Their limitation is because of their numerical strength to handle the nature of the security escalation of the country. For instance, you can’t send 15 soldiers to fight 300 bandits and expect good results. These 300 people appear from a direction you least expect and disappear after wreaking havoc. So, the tactics employed by the bandits made it so difficult for the limited number of security assets we have and I am happy and appreciate the President for having taken the step he has taken so far. The soldiers can now recruit, the police will recruit and the states which are exposed to these security issues can now have their police and that’s a very good development. I will like to seize this opportunity to advise the military, we have a large concentration of able bodied ex-service men that can be recalled to cover up the deficiency. Doing so will mean saving money to train and time because time is of essence here. If we call back those able bodied men, I mean those who are still strong. I remember what we did during the unfortunate Biafran issues, we had to call retired soldiers back and when they came in, they made the whole offensive difference because now we had adequate manpower. So the decision Mr President has taken is a welcomed idea. I appreciate him for that because when the strength of the security agents is increased, the next step is providing adequate weapons. You need to provide the tools with which they work and if we do that, I can see that within the shortest possible time, we will clear this rubbish. The next thing that must be done is that we must close our borders and defend them in such a way that no one will come in or go out without our permission. Those bandits come from Niger Republic into Kebbi State, create a lot of havoc and ride back. But, if we have that axis covered by security agents on ground, they can’t find a way to come in. They have to fight and they will not be able to come in and cause the havoc anymore. So I want to reiterate that the military should recall those able bodied ones. They have records of everyone, they should be able to call them back and let’s get on with this job.

What is your take on the issue of open grazing?

  The first thing we must consider is that the Fulani are by nature highly mobile, they move to areas where they can get feed for their cattle. If we are to stop such mobility, we have to create ranches that will provide adequate grass and water for their cattle. If these two facilities are available, it will be more convincing to have them change their mind from moving from one place to the other and that will help us check the likelihood of attacks by some of our Fulani brothers. I think that’s the major problem, first we must have to provide a facility that will enable them settle down and will not have to move from point A to B anymore.

 I think it is better we identify them as herders.  That’s true, my elder brother who is not Fulani has plenty of cattle.

 Do you think that retired soldiers will be willing to return if called back?

 I can assure you that if you stand in one place and say our ex-servicemen from this age range report to your local government headquarters many will comply. I have had discussions with some of my colleagues, ex-servicemen, both other ranks and officers, who are biting their fingers and saying “look, why don’t we go and help in this?” Where I come from, there is a saying that a Zuru man once he enters the army, he is not looking forward to retirement. I also have friends that I have spoken with, they say “why don’t we tell these ogas to call us back even if we are to guard the barracks and let them go and fight?”

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