The Wall Street Journal has reported how a panel of United States policymakers uncovered how Boko Haram terrorists operating in the North-East region have been collaborating with armed bandits terrorising communities across the North-West to extort money from the Buhari administration and civilian victims by demanding ransom. But the Nigerian Air Force, NAF, in a swift reaction, vehemently denied all complicity with the terrorist groups, while accusing the newspaper of fuelling insecurity in the country.
WSJ had published a report on Sunday, alleging that the NAF brokered the deal to secure a 12.7 calibre anti aircraft gun as President Muhammadu Buhari was planning a trip to Katsina, his home state.
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has described as false a newspaper report that it paid N20 million to some bandits in exchange for an anti-aircraft gun earlier seized from troops.
The air force said the report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) was part of a campaign to further the cause of insecurity in Nigeria by elements who see it (NAF) as a threat following a series of successful exploits in operations against criminal gangs.
The American newspaper reports that the U.S. has not recognised armed banditry as a direct threat to its interest, but officials have been monitoring bandit commanders and their possible coordination with Boko Haram insurgents.
“American officials say they have intercepted calls from suspected Islamist militants in the northeast who are advising bandits in the northwest on kidnapping operations and negotiations,” the Journal said in a report published recently.
The report could increase widespread calls for President Muhammadu Buhari to declare the bandits as terrorists, even though they have no declared political or religious aim. The Buhari’s government, however, does not seem to be in a hurry to label the bandits, but reports say the government has ordered security forces to intensify raids of unsecured forests and other hideouts.
President Buhari himself in various interviews has repeatedly exonerated the herdsmen from the various crimes claiming that the cattle rearers do not carry guns, but sticks and machetes, which they use to gather grass for their herds.
In contrast, Buhari claims that these bandits have acquired far more sophisticated weapons with which they carry out their heinous crimes, adding that the foreigners from other parts of Africa are the ones with the AK-47.
Despite all efforts by the Nigerian military to wipe out the bandits across the North-West, the gangs have shown stronger capabilities and resilience in confronting government forces over the past year.
In July this year, the bandits shot down one of NAF’s fighter jets, just as the President was visiting his hometown for the sallah celebration.
This same feat was repeated in August, barely a month after, when the bandits breached the Nigerian Defence Academy in Kaduna, killing soldiers and abducting other officers, including an army major.
Since then at least three military bases have also been raided in Sokoto and Zamfara within the past few weeks.