From Kankara To Kagara: The Deification Of Banditry – By Dakuku Peterside
The recent abduction of 27 pupils and 15 workers of Government Science College, Kagara, Niger State by armed bandits is another demonstration of the dilapidated state of security in Nigeria and the Nigerian state’s failure to secure the lives and ensure the safety of her citizens. According to news reports, the bandits demand N500m to release the abducted students and workers held in a forest that connects Kebbi, Zamfara, Niger and the Kaduna States. Kaduna-based Islamic cleric Ahmad Gumi is said to be negotiating with the bandits. Niger State Governor Abubakar Bello Sani has vowed to do everything within his powers to ensure the students are released unhurt. This incident comes at the heels of the heinous abduction of about 400 government secondary school students, Kankara in Katsina State by bandits last December. Many Nigerians scoffed at government claims that it did not pay any ransom for the Kankara boys’ release. Interestingly, there are no records of any official inquest, arres...