A retired military officer has provided insights into the root causes of banditry plaguing Nigeria’s northwest region, linking the crisis to historical cattle rustling and systemic failures in the justice system.
During a recent interview on Daily Trust TV from 19:06, Major General Umar I. Mohammed (Retd.), a security expert, outlined how Fulani herders’ initial attempts at self-defense gradually evolved into organized criminal activities.
“I have read a lot of literature on the origin of banditry in the northwest,” Mohammed stated during the interview. He explained that his analysis draws from both extensive research and personal knowledge of the situation.
According to Mohammed, the crisis began when Fulani communities, primarily concentrated in Zamfara, Sokoto, and Katsina states, faced persistent cattle rustling. The security expert described how these herders struggled to access justice through official channels.
“When their cows were rustled, many of them, because they were illiterate, could not have access to government to report,” Mohammed explained. “Even when they reported, they saw that nothing was being done because they were not considered important people—that is the judicial system that we operate.”
Frustrated by the lack of institutional support, some herders took matters into their own hands. “Based on that, some of them decided to go and buy weapons to defend themselves,” the retired general noted.
However, Mohammed identified this as a critical turning point that transformed victims into perpetrators. He described how the possession of weapons gradually shifted the herders’ perspective on their livelihood.
“When they bought weapons, they started defending themselves. Then later on, they realized that they were suffering by rearing animals,” Mohammed said. “You continue to follow cows from one village to another from morning to evening, and you have a gun with you.”
The security expert emphasized the psychological impact of weapon possession, stating: “There is nothing as strong as a weapon, because there is nothing that can strip life out of a person more than a weapon. Once somebody points a weapon at you, you’ll be ready to give him whatever you have.”
This realization of power, according to Mohammed, marked the transformation from legitimate self-defense to criminal enterprise. “They saw the power in the weapons. So they left their cows and took to the banditry. They started kidnapping people, killing innocent people,” he concluded.
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