President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday reacted to the latest bandit killings recorded in Zamfara State. He described the action of the bandits as an “act of desperation.” Government sources said at least 58 persons were killed in the attacks which began on Wednesday and lasted for about 48 hours. Some unofficial estimates put the toll at about 200. “The latest attacks on innocent people by escaping bandits in Zamfara is an act of desperation by mass murderers, who are now under relentless pressure from our military forces who are well equipped to effectively confront these enemies of humanity,” the President said in a statement on Saturday. “In keeping with my commitment to tackle the monster of terrorism head-on, let me reassure these besieged communities and other Nigerians that this government will not abandon them to their fate because we are more than ever determined to get rid of these outlaws. “These criminals will be history because we are not going to relent in our current military operations to get rid of these thugs who have been terrorising innocent people. “I appeal for patience from the affected communities, even as I extend our deepest condolences to the survivors and the families of those killed. We are fiercely determined to smoke out and destroy these outlaws who have no regard for the sanctity of life. “HQ Nigerian Army and Nigerian Air Force HQ are working together to get rid of these callous criminals. We are acquiring more equipment to track down and eliminate all the criminal gangs that are subjecting innocent people to the reign of terror, including illegal imposition of taxes on the communities under siege.”

Thirty students of Federal Government College, Birnin Yauri, Kebbi State, and one teacher of the school, have regained freedom after six months in captivity. On June 17, 2021, bandits from neighbouring Rijau forest in Niger State, broke into the school and abducted students and staff. Kebbi shuts schools after Birnin Yauri kidnapping Bandits kill two passengers, abduct 40 in Taraba The armed men, who reportedly stormed the school on motorcycles, overpowered the security operatives on ground, killing a policeman in the process. Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi had ruled out negotiation with the armed group, which demanded ransom. Four months after the abduction, three teachers and 30 students were released but it is unclear if any ransom was paid. On Saturday, the Special Adviser to the governor on Media and Publicity, Yahaya Sarki, confirmed the release of 30 more students. “Today, Saturday 8th January 2022, 30 students of Federal Government College, Birnin Yauri and one teacher have arrived Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State capital following their release. They shall undergo medical screening and support while being re-united with their families.”It will be recalled that on Thursday 21 October, 2022, 30 students of the same school were released and brought to Birnin Kebbi to be reunited with their families .This is in addition to some who were earlier released to their parents. “We thank all security agencies and those who have helped in securing the release, while congratulating Mr. President, Muhammadu Buhari for the success.” The high level of attacks have been a source of worry to Nigerians as armed gangs have been operating across the country despite repeated assurances from the government and security agencies. In one of such attacks, which happened in Zamfara State, over 143 persons were killed by migrating bandits. President Muhammadu Buhari has since commiserated with those affected, vowing that their killers would be tracked.

President Muhammadu Buhari says the fight against insecurity and other challenges in Nigeria needs divine intervention. Speaking on Saturday at the national prayer session for the country, organised by the Kano state government, Buhari said his administration has been making significant efforts to overcome the security challenges bedeviling the country. Represented by Mustapha Babai, minister of state for agriculture, the president stated that federal government has also supported security personnel with equipment and quality welfare. “Despite the support, there is a need to seek divine intervention for the Almighty to bring an end to the challenges,” the president said. I am very happy with this initiative. Indeed Ganduje is doing well in securing Kano and has given his quota to achieving peace in the country at large. “No doubt, Nigeria is facing security challenges and we are doing our best to support the security personnel. That does not mean we should not seek divine intervention. This prayer session is part of the interventions and I commend the state governor for this.” In his remarks, Abdullahi Ganduje, Kano governor, thanked Buhari for his efforts in ensuring that the state remains peaceful. The governor noted that Nigeria is indeed facing security challenges, and there is a need to seek divine intervention to overcome the challenges. He stated that the government is ready to make the prayer session an annual event where the state would invite global Islamic scholars to grace the event.

The uncertainties surrounding the forthcoming general elections seem to be growing wider by the day, especially with President Buhari’s refusal to sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law. His rejection of the Electoral Bill because of the section bothering on direct primaries which he does not agree with, has remained a subject of debates and conversations among Nigerians who hold divergent views on the matter. While some individuals hailed him for the action described as patriotic, others believe his withholding of assent to the Electoral Bill 2021, will not produce credible elections in 2023. Among those who believe the president acted in good faith, is Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El Rufai. In his opinion, President Buhari has always been a believer in direct primaries but with what is on ground, it will not produce the desired result in the general elections. “I want to say here, for everyone to hear loud and clear, President Buhari has always been an advocate of direct primaries. From our days in the CPC, through the last primaries in 2018, when he ran for the second time, we used direct primaries. So ideologically, and personally, President Buhari prefers direct primaries, to indirect primaries because he believes that direct primaries is one that gives party members greater participation in deciding who is their candidate, rather than a few elected people and delegates that can be susceptible to corruption. “So, I want people to understand that by refusing to sign that bill, it is not president Buhari doing it because of a certain preference for indirect primaries or anything,” El Rufai explained, during an interview with Arise TV. He further listed four conditions which if put in place, make direct primaries a good method of getting candidates to emerge in a party. “The four conditions are; you must have membership register that is open and that everyone agrees is the real membership register of the party; you need every member in that register to have a biometric card with barcodes so that he can be easily identified and so that he can vote in the primaries; you must have a system or mechanism for counting the votes in the direct primaries that everyone has confidence in; you need security to prevent non members from coming into the venue to vote or thugs being imported to disrupt voting. If you don’t have these four conditions, direct primaries will be a disaster. “Now, can we put all these things in place before the next elections? Maybe we can; I don’t know but right now, we don’t have that in place and I want to remind Nigerians to look at results of direct primaries in the last few years”. Buttressing his stance, he cited the case of the recent governorship election in Anambra State, where he said the APC candidate, “Andy Uba allegedly got hundreds of thousands of votes in the direct primaries. And then the main election came and he got a fraction of what he got in the direct primaries. How can that be? You can at least be sure that members of your party will all come out to vote for you and may be a few that will be neutral will add to that. “This happened because these four things I told you, were not in place in Anambra state and what you saw as the result of direct primaries may not represent the reality. Go back to 2019 in Lagos, there, direct primaries produced Sanwo-Olu and defeated Ambode. Yes, go and check the numbers of votes that the winner of the election got and compare with what he got in the election, you’ll know that direct primaries’ results are not reflective of reality. So, direct primaries are actually more susceptible to abuse than indirect primaries. Direct primaries is more difficult to manage unlike indirect primaries where a limited number of people can be in one room, can be counted, and you cannot change anything”. Aside the issue of Electoral Amendment Bill, another pressing matter as the 2023 general elections approach, is the issue of zoning. On this, the governor categorically, said he does not zone positions, rather, he gets people that can get the job done. “I am a student of history and governance; I have not seen any country in the world that has succeeded on a sustainable basis, by selecting its leaders based on geography, religion, ethnicity, etc. So, it’s not a smart way to choose leaders, the smartest way to choose leaders in all the countries that have made progress, is to have competitive basis in which merit tops everything; you pick the best material. “In Kaduna, the last time I checked, we have people from 18 states of Nigeria represented in our government because, we just want results and don’t care where you come from. However, in this country, there’s a political culture that presupposes that the leadership of the country or even of states, should rotate between various parts of the country. There’s an understanding and in fact, one party has it in their constitution. “The PDP has it in their constitution but we don’t have it in the APC. It is an unspoken understanding and in politics, these kinds of understanding are as strong as any provisions of the constitution. You observe them and if you don’t, you pay a heavy political price. Goodluck Jonathan paid that price, when he tried to violate the agreement with the PDP leaders – that he will only contest one term after Yar’ Adua’s term. Explaining further, Governor El Rufai noted that “Based on the political culture of Nigeria, not because I think it is a good idea, or that I support it personally or that I practice it, but based on the political culture in Nigeria, after 8 years of President Buhari, presidency should be open to the South. I do not think that any northerner should put himself forward and say I want the presidency”. That only means

The death toll from the attack by bandits on communities in Zamfara state has reportedly risen to 200. TheCable had reported how bandits invaded about five communities located in Bukkuyum and Anka LGAs of the state between Wednesday night and Thursday morning. According to The Punch, survivors of the attack said the bandits killed over 200 villagers and set many houses ablaze. The bandits, who came in large numbers, were said to be fleeing from the state due to ongoing military operations when they attacked the communities. The newspaper quoted Mohanned Kurfa, a survivor, as saying trouble started when vigilantes in the communities tried to confront bandits who were fleeing with about 3000 cattle. The vigilantes were said to have engaged the bandits in a gun duel, which led to the attacks. Commenting on the incident, Ibrahim Dosara, Zamfara commissioner for information, reportedly blamed informants for the attacks. One of the serious problems is that we have a lot of informants getting information to these people. The moment you strategise, the moment the enemies also strategise,” Dosara reportedly said. According to the report, the commissioner said military aircraft had been deployed alongside security forces to go after the bandits.