By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly, Barrister Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji has insisted that bandits have annexed a vast piece of land belonging to Kontangora Army Barracks in the state.
Sarkin-Daji, who also represents Mariga Constituency, said the bandits are on the rampage on the land as they kidnap people with reckless abandon without fear of arrest.
He made this known in an interview with journalists on Friday. The speaker stressed that the most recent incident happened on Thursday when at least 20 passengers in 5 vehicles were reportedly kidnapped on Mariga-Kontagora road in Niger State.
Speaking on the strategic operations of the bandits in Niger State, and how they executed this particular operation, Sarkin-Daji said the bandits blocked Mariga-Kontagora road between Baban-Lamba and Beri and consequently laid ambush on their unsuspecting victims.
Sarkin-Daji said families of the victims previously kidnapped had taken ransom to bandits several times in the forest which was part of the military ground.
He said the victims, who were released after the ransom payments also told their families that they were kept in a forest not far from the Kontagora Army Barracks.
The Speaker said some passengers who were kidnapped on Thursday along the same Mariga-Kontagora road were also moved to the same forest.
He called on the military to gather intelligence and the right information in order to flush out the bandits from the forest.
“As members representing our people, we get feedback from our constituents of their plights. So, before we present anything on the floor of the House, we have done our investigation very well.
“It is not as if we are underrating the military capacity to fight bandits and terrorists but it is not right to just dismiss the complaints of our people. We want the federal government and concerned authorities to know their plights.
“The communities said the military training ground had become a safe haven for bandits who always come out of that forest to attack them, kidnap people and take them to the same Forest. Even the kidnapped victims that were released after the payment of ransom said they were taken to the same bush and they could sight the Kontagora Army Barrack from where they were kept by the bandits.
“What we expect from the military was to seek more information about what victims have told us and flush the bandits out. But you cannot just come out to refute what a member of House of Assembly had said.
“Let me tell you, as military refuted what one of our members said Wednesday, on Thursday, October 31, bandits blocked the road between Baban-Lamba and Beri and kidnapped all Passengers in 5 vehicles. More than 20 passengers were kidnapped and taken to the same forest. From Kontagora to Beri is a vast land belonging to Army Barracks Kontagora.
“So, refuting the complaint of people is not right. The military should do the needful and flush out these criminals. The military is made to protect the people. So, we will continue to speak out to let the federal government and all stakeholders know the plight of our people,” the Speaker said.
Recall that Niger State lawmakers during a plenary session on Monday had raised concern that the military barracks in Kontangora had been taken over by bandits.
But in a swift reaction, the Nigeria Defence Headquarters said no inch of its land was conceded to bandits, adding that men of the Nigeria Army .were working seriously to put an end to banditry and allied insurgency in the North.
