A mother whose child was abducted in Nigeria this year
In our series of letters from African journalists, Mannir Dan Ali, former editor-in-chief of Nigeria's Daily Trust newspaper, says the shooting down of a military jet shows how organised crime is becoming more daring by the day.

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Nigerians refer to them as bandits - a word that does not quite do justice to what are in fact networks of sophisticated criminals who operate across large swathes of northern-western and central Nigeria.

Gangs on motorbikes terrorise the region, stealing animals, kidnapping for ransom, killing anyone who dares confront them and taxing farmers - it's a huge money-making operation.

Over the last four years the security forces have not been able to get a handle on the situation, which millions of Nigerians feel is out of control.

Last week President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the Dutsinma-to-Tsaskiya road in his home state of Katsina but few people dare travel on it after countless attacks.

Parents of kidnapped students from Bethel Baptist High School, in Nigeria's Kaduna state, stand by shoes left behind after the attack - July 2021
image caption Kidnappers have been calling these parents at Bethel Baptist High School asking for food for their captive children
Most top government officials, including security chiefs, take the train linking the capital, Abuja, to Kaduna because of frequent abductions on the road between the two cities.

A serving army general was recently killed on the main road from Abuja to central Kogi state and his sister, who had been travelling with him, was kidnapped.

This week, 13 military police were killed in an ambush in Zamfara state when at the same time at least 150 villagers were abducted.

At the moment at least 300 students are being held by kidnappers who seized them from their schools in Kaduna, Niger and Kebbi states at different times over the last two months - many taken in broad daylight.

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Nigeria child abduction: Kidnappers demand millions for a child's life
Some are Islamic primary school students as young as five and most of them, if the kidnappers are to be believed, have fallen sick.

In all these cases, the gangs are asking for huge amounts of money to release the children - ransoms the parents cannot afford, while the authorities insist that they will neither pay ransoms nor negotiate with criminals.

The kidnappers, whose hideouts are in vast camps in forests, are brazen.

As they hold out for payment, they hassle parents with demands for bags of rice, beans and cooking oil to feed their captives.

Dozens of schools spread across at least five northern states have been closed by the authorities as they are unable to protect them.

Food prices spiral
This has not stopped the gangs, who have recently turned to targeting more high-profile figures such as a local emir and his family.

Mannir Dan Ali
M Dan Ali
Some of the gang members have been boasting of their alliance with Islamist Boko Haram militants... allegations that have not been independently verified"
Mannir Dan Ali
Journalist
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Hundreds of villages have been deserted after some of the most brutal and deadly attacks.

In some areas, the gangs dictate what the locals can do and levy taxes.

Such insecurity in one of the country's rich agricultural belts is clear for all to see.

Cattle crossing the road by a sign welcoming people to Zamfara state
image caption Farming has been affected by the growing insecurity
This year has already seen unprecedented rises in the prices of staple foods like maize, rice and beans that are grown there.

Now in the middle of the farming season huge tracts of farmland are inaccessible.

'Sophisticated know-how'
The one clear advantage - air power - that the authorities seemed to have over the criminals is now under threat.

Reports that a military jet had been shot down on Sunday by one of the gangs were at first flatly denied.

But when villagers in the area told reporters they had helped the pilot to escape to safety, the military issued a statement with a more positive spin - commending the "gallant pilot" who had come under "intense enemy fire" after a "successful" mission.

Flight Lieutenant Abayomi Dairo with the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao
image caption Flight Lt Abayomi Dairo (L) was helped by villagers to escape after his plane was shot down
The authorities may have tried to downplay the incident but it shocked security analysts.

"We know the bandits have all those bazookas, rocket launchers… We didn't believe they have the technical know-how and capacity to use them," retired security official Mike Ejiofor told the Vanguard newspaper.

Some of the gang members have been boasting of their alliance with Islamist Boko Haram militants, who have waged a decade-long insurgency in north-eastern Nigeria and some of whom are now linked to the Islamic State group. Such allegations have not been independently verified.


Seun
Mynd44
Lalasticlala
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57934849

Naija Don cast

This is for anyone out there who have the passion for fighting for people’s right, don’t make the mistake of becoming a freedom fighting for NIGERIA masses,

Leave Nigeria masses, they love their chains of sufferness, hardship and poverty. These masses you want to fight for will wish for you to fail, to be killed or jailed. Nigeria masses only complain, but they are contented in their chains and in love with their oppressor.

Nigeria masses are contented/happy in their chains of hardship, poverty, killings, raping, oppression and suffering. They are destiny to this suffering and smiling way of life, as a matter of fact they are still in love with their oppressor and their oppressors know this.


So trying to liberate Nigeria masses from their chains and separate them from their oppressors will be a suicide mission that doesn’t worth it.

Why do Fulani prefer evil to good?

Do you mean the Northern businessmen ??
They are generating IGR for Arewa .
BBC is reporting nonsense. When would they tell us about the millions of people killed and displaced by Sunday Igboho and Nnamdi Kanu

Nonsense and Buhari wrinkled scrotum!

FG is Ok with that. Their problem is with twitter, Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Ighoho.

Home of Farming and Shari'a


These Northerners have some confusion in their heads.

Shari'a should not be an identity FGS.
Even Saudi Arabia the home of moderate and sensible Islam will not describe itself as home of Shari'a.

Who cursed us with this people, why?

There was a country but was completely destroyed when brainless, selfish and greedy people decided to elect a man who overthrown an elected democratical president as the democratically elected president

We have people that God will take to a special hell fire for their wickedness in supporting evil because it's been done by their religion people. Eg Tinubu advocate.