Banditry has become the biggest threat in Nigeria, pushing aside the title hitherto held by Boko Haram and Islamic States West Africa Province, (ISWAP).
The recent takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban has raised further concerns that bandits in Africas most populous nation may be nursing an agenda to also dethrone civil authority.
The fears are being fuelled by the Talibans vow to impose Islamic law worldwide. Analysts believe the movement may reach out to armed groups in other countries to actualize their plan of global control.
Only a few could have predicted that apart from the North-East, there would be daily news of killings, kidnapping of traditional heads, businessmen and locals, invasion of schools, attacks on farmers, security agents and government officials.
The salient question Nigerians are asking is: How did bandits dominate the states in North-Central and North-West? They wonder how hundreds of outlaws got so emboldened to strike at will in a country with a large armed force.
According to a popular narrative, ahead of the 2015 General Elections, a number of mercenaries were brought in by politicians desperate for victory. After the polls, the fighters remained and allocated territories to themselves by establishing camps.
According to a legal practitioner, Festus Ogun, banditry, insurgency and terrorism are linked, saying it would be insincere to code-name terrorism as banditry.
The lawyer lamented that typical of the Nigerian system, the laws are neither respected nor complied with, leaving a loophole that allows terrorists and weaponry to move in and out of the nations territory without hindrance.
Also, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Public Relations Officer, ACI Amos Okpu, in an interview, said there are measures in place to enhance border security.
The spokesman said the NIS has deepened engagement, adding that the leadership recently visited border communities in Adamawa and Katsina States for a meeting with traditional and religious institutions.
Okpu explained the migrant e-registration project in which the biometrics of foreigners who plan to stay in Nigeria for more than 90 days are captured.
The PRO also mentioned the Migration Information and Data Analysis System, (MIDAS), a platform used for passenger clearance and intelligence gathering.
We are now connected to the INTERPOL global platform. This has enhanced intelligence gathering and sharing on transnational organised crime, real-time. On aliens, the word is no longer in use, they are called migrants, the official said.
Responding to an inquiry, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Deputy PRO, DC Timi Bomodi, assured that security is tight at all borders, to forestall the influx of firearms.
However, the Federal Government insists most bandits are not Nigerians. Recall that in February, Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, blamed the ECOWAS Protocols on the free movement of humans and cattle, saying that the Buhari administration is working towards amendment.
Meanwhile, the shutdown of telecommunication services in Katsina and Zamfara States is still in effect, as joint forces battle with bandits.
