Cattle Rustling And Buratai’s Magic Wand

By Anthony Kolawole

Those deluded enough to test the strength of the Nigerian state are by now learning the hard lesson of their foolhardiness. In this context the reference is to those criminal elements that rode on the coattails of Boko Haram terrorists to have their field day with other forms of crimes like the cattle rustlers that took the northern parts of the country especially the north west as a playground.

The focus on dealing with Boko Haram fighters, first all over the country and later in the northeast that was the operational axis of the terror group, had meant that resources and efforts were channeled toward that singular goal. Cattle rustlers took on a sense of invincibility in that time. These rustlers had dislocated farming and animal husbandry in the north west on scale that could have only been achieved by a terror group like Boko Haram.

At the height of their criminality farming activities have basically slowed to a halt as the farmers either pay up protection money to be left alone or face the prospect of being robbed of livestock and other valuables.The bandits make mockery of security operations that dislodged them as they simply return to communities from which they have been driven with a vengeance that usually throw the people into more misery. This must of course have been driven by the confidence among the cattle thieves that the military forces and other security agencies were occupied with flushing out Boko Haram.

The story has now changed. The bad news for the rustlers, in the words of the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar is that “The challenges in the North East have been substantially addressed, so we are not too worried now about the North East.” Bad news has thus come for the criminals in other parts of the country, which is good news for law abiding citizens.

The Nigerian Army, true to the commitment of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen. TY Buratai is already delivering this message to these misguided elements. As recently as Friday, troops of 35 Battalion, 3 Brigade, 1 Division, Nigerian Army, working with operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Katsina State smashed one of such syndicates under an operation code named Operation SHARAN DAJI.

The bandits’ encounter with the members of that operation left one of them dead and two escaping with gunshot wounds, according to the Army’s account, which revealed that an AK-47 rifle and ammunition were recovered in that exercise.

Another operation by a combined team also in Katsina State led to the arrest of a notorious cattle rustler, Abubakar Mohammed (AKA Gora) and his associates, Anas Gora and Bello Sani in addition to the recovery of 49 cattle and 25 sheep. The suspects were reportedly handed over to the police while the recovered animals were handed over to Faskari Local Government Area Council Secretary for handing over to the rightful owners.

It is noteworthy that patriotic citizens played their own roles in these operations through the timely provision of information when they noticed the suspicious gunmen. It was the information that allowed the teams quickly swing into action.

It is reassuring that General Buratai has reaffirmed a commitment to ridding the northern parts of the country of these cattle rustlers in line with the directives of President Muhammadu Buhari. For this region they represent the next level of threat that must be neutralized in the interest of national security now that Boko Haram has been decimated by the Army.

One must however call on General Buratai and the institution he represents to bring the experiences from the previous exercises against these cattle rustlers to bear in this renewed onslaught. One, inter-agencies collaborations do pay off so other services like the Air Force would add value to future operations with the benefit of aerial surveillance while an organisation like the NSCDC tends to have more of that connection with local populations as the first point of relaying information.

It is commendable that the Nigerian Army transferred jurisdiction to the police by handing over suspects to them as the civil authority that would determine what happens next. The Army must however initiate a process of tracking what happens to suspects that have been transferred to sister institutions like the police to rule out any untowards developments. It is important that these killers must not simply be allowed back into society without facing the law since this tends to create more dangerous bandits that often return to exact retributions.

The judiciary must step in to ensure the gains the military and security agencies are making in tackling cattle rustlers do not go to waste. For all intents and purposes, the courts must treat these cattle rustlers in the same manner they treat terrorists because they pose an even greater danger to the country. Their activities has greatly jeopardized food security in addition to loss of life and wanton destruction of property.
Nigerians, especially those living in areas troubled by criminals, must improve on the culture of providing information that will help improve on security in their communities. The military services cannot be everywhere even with the array of technology available to them; citizens must continue to make contributions towards improving on national security.

Criminals in other sectors and regions must wake up to the reality that the day of reckoning is at hand. The lightning speed with which the Army under General Buratai is routing cattle rustlers is a clear indication that it is a matter of time before this level of threat is neutralized like he did with Boko Haram and the troops would be available to focus on other security breaches that are in need of his magic wand.

Kolawole PhD contributed this piece from the United Arab Emirates.