A person betrayed by a friend needs no outrage, says a local proverb, because even siblings betray one. In communities and within families, some people act as black sheep, disrupting the cohesion and purposefulness to which almost every other member of the unit aspires. Such people do not mind subjecting others to any kind of pain, so long as their selfish desires are met. In Taraba State, a local chief was recently arrested for allegedly providing a hideout for terrorists in the community for the sum of N1.5 million. The incident happened at Angwan-Bala in the Karim Lamido Local Government Area of the state. According to the spokesperson of the 6 Brigade of the Nigerian Army in Jalingo, Captain Oni Olubodunde, the terrorists had relocated from Plateau State and were received and harboured by the village head of Amar, one Karim Lamido. He said: “Acting on credible intelligence regarding the movement of suspected bandits, the gallant troops conducted a fighting patrol to the identified hideout. On sighting the patrol team, the bandits opened fire, prompting an immediate and overwhelming response from the troops.
“In the ensuing firefight, one bandit was neutralised while 23 others, including 19 males and four females, surrendered without further resistance. A comprehensive search of the camp led to the recovery of a significant cache of arms and ammunition, including four AK-47 rifles, five AK-47 rifle magazines, 80 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, 1 English made pistol, two locally made guns, 28 cutlasses, 16 motorcycles, 48 daggers and jack knives.” Commenting on the operation, the Commander of 6 Brigade Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Kingsley Uwa, reaffirmed the brigade’s unwavering commitment to the security and stability of Taraba State and its environs. He said: “This operation is a testament to our resolve to eliminate criminal elements, restoring lasting peace, and ensuring that Taraba State does not become a safe haven for terrorists. We will continue to work tirelessly with relevant stakeholders to sustain the fight against insecurity.”
In a related incident, 50-year-old Ado Haruna, who set up his nephew, Alhaji Bashiru Anas and his family members for abduction, was recently apprehended by the operatives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Nigeria Police. The suspect, who stated that he was given only N200,000 out of the N13 million collected as ransom, was among the criminals recently paraded by the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in Abuja. Haruna, a resident of Angwa Kanawa Dutse Abba, Zaria, Kaduna State, was reported to have taken certain bandits identified as Shago Yaro, Tanimu Ayuba and Lamido Dantajiri close to the house of his nephew and suggested kidnapping him and his family for a hefty ransom.
On the day they struck, the bandits were said to have found Anas absent and made away with his two wives and three children, his younger brother and the latter’s wife, and taken the victims to Buruku Sabo Birni, where they were held hostage for two months. They collected N13 million, four new motorcycles and N300,000 worth of recharge cards before agreeing to free the captives. In an interview with this newspaper, Haruna said: “I’m into farming and vigilante work. It is true that I was the one who took bandits to Alhaji Anas’s house. Anas is my nephew; my elder sister’s son. I knew only one of the bandits who asked me to show them my nephew’s house. I led the bandits to his house but didn’t let him see me. We were living in the same community. They did not see Anas, so they took his wife and children. For the 60 days his family was in the bush, I was using Alhaji Anas’s phone to communicate with the bandits. The bandits were paid over N10 million as ransom, as I was made to know, but I was given N200,000 as my share. I bought maize with the money given to me. I didn’t know how the police got information about my involvement. I just saw them at my home. Life pushed me into crime.”
What is common to these two stories is criminal betrayal of trust, and that happens frequently in society, particularly these days when the quest for sudden wealth seems to drive many people into senseless acts. Without any compunction, people abuse their positions for money and privileges. In the Taraba case, a local chief chose to provide a hideout for terrorists in his domain, not minding the inherent dangers to himself, his family and his people. He forgot or chose not to think about the fact that the outlaws do not have any moral code precluding them from wiping him and members of his community out if they (terrorists) perceived them to be a threat, or just for the sheer sadistic pleasure of shedding human blood for apparently no reason at all. Even if the terrorists kept their word not to harm members of the community in question, what about the members of other communities they were bound to harm, to kill and to destroy? This story is distressing, to say the least. It raises critical questions about the process of putting people in leadership positions. How do you collect money to give criminals ample opportunity to fight communities and the government?
And then there is the man who sold his nephew, as it were, to terrorists and deviously joined the search party for the members of his family who were taken captive. Apparently, money was thicker than blood for this suspect. He needed money and did not care if his own blood relations were maimed and killed and, from all indications, his partners in crime even scammed him, giving him a pittance out of the proceeds of their crime. Just how do you lead criminals to abduct your own nephew? If blood relationship does not mean anything anymore, who then can people trust?
Given the current state of affairs in society, vigilance is key. People should be careful about their movement and should not trust blindly just because they happen to know the people around them fairly or very well. If there is suspicious behaviour, it should be reported to the authorities. Again, we urge the government to treat the suspects in these cases like the criminals that they are and use them to send a strong signal to would-be crminals that acts of conspiracy and sabotage will not be tolerated. Giving criminals a dose of their own medicine is a sure way of deterring crime. We hope that justice will be done in these cases.
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