The security outfits established by various state governments, especially in the North-West, are being accused of indiscriminate arrests and killing of suspects, as well as innocent people without recourse to judicial processes, findings by Daily Trust Saturday revealed.

But those charged with the responsibility of managing the outfits have debunked the claims of extrajudicial killings, though some admitted what they described as “overzealousness” by some of the operatives.

It was alleged that in some states, long lists of suspected bandits, their supporters or sympathisers have been arrested and ultimately killed, and such acts are allegedly being carried out without recourse to the police and other law enforcement agencies.

So far, the Katsina State Community Watch Corps (CWC), Zamfara State Community Protection Guards (CPG), Kaduna State Vigilantes Service (KADVIS) and the Sokoto State Community Guard Corps (CGC) have been established, while Jigawa, Kano and Kebbi states are expected to form theirs soon. Kaduna State had earlier developed its own strategy, which is similar to those of the six other states.

Sadly, many families in the affected states are now mourning the arbitrary arrest and subsequent disappearance of their loved ones due to the alleged excesses of the state-recognised security outfits.

This is amid increased calls by residents and interested organisations on the need for the federal government to engage with governors of the affected states and get them to retool the mode of operations of the security bodies in their respective states, considering that the vigilantes are being accused of entrenching serious mistrust among the populace instead of managing the fragile security situations bedevilling different societies.

How vigilantes got state recognition

Several communities in the northwestern states have been sacked by bandits, forcing residents to move to major towns or state capitals and depend on relatives, street begging and or some menial jobs for survival.

In Zamfara State, for instance, all the 14 local government areas had witnessed a series of attacks by the dreaded bandits at one time or another. However, Gusau, Maru, Anka, Zurmi, Tsafe, Bungudu, Maradun, Shinkafi, Ruwan Dorawa and Kaura Namoda are considered the worst hit.

Thousands of residents in the state have been suffering in silence for years as majority of them have lost their loved ones, their houses burnt and their animals rustled by the armed bandits, thereby rendering them poor.

In Katsina, the recent cases in Wurma and Lambo communities in Kurfi Local Government Area are classic examples of devastation by banditry in the state. The bandits, in their hundreds, invaded the villages and shot sporadically on helpless victims, killing many of them, including women and children, while hundreds were injured.

A large number of people were kidnapped, houses burnt down, including a mobile police outpost and a health facility, while several shops were burgled and vandalised, even as bags of grains were set ablaze during the operation that lasted for hours.

In Sokoto State, many communities in Isa, Sabon Birni, Gada, Goronyo, Raba, Tambuwal and Wurno local government areas have similarly suffered varying degrees of pains in the hands of the bandits, having witnessed a series of attacks.

Also, in Kaduna State, many communities in Birnin-Gwari, Chikun, Rigasa and Igabi local government areas, have witnessed related attacks from the dreaded armed bandits.

It was against this background that the North-West governors: Abba Kabir Yusuf (Kano), Dauda Lawal (Zamfara), Nasir Idris (Kebbi), Ahmad Aliyu (Sokoto), Dikko Umar Radda (Katsina), Uba Sani (Kaduna) and Umar Namadi (Jigawa), decided to face the security challenges bedevilling their states through collaborative efforts.

Interventions for vigilantes in various states

Already, Governor Lawal in Zamfara is receiving commendations for some of the proactive measures he has put in place in addressing some security challenges that have direct negative effects on the social and economic life of the people. For instance, a total of 2,645 CPG personnel, also known as Askarawan Zamfara, were commissioned during an occasion that heralded the establishment of the state-owned security outfit.

The occasion was attended by the governors of the six other northwestern states in solidarity with their colleague, the host.

The state government said it made a huge investment in these personnel as it sponsored their six months of training under military supervision and equipped them with pump action guns, 32 brand new patrol vans, 1,500 motorbikes and communication gadgets to make their work effective.

The state government also established a security trust fund for the purpose of sourcing funds to support the CPG’s activities.

Speaking at the event on January 31, 2024, Governor Radda of Katsina, who doubles as the chairman, North-West Governors’ Forum, said they were committed to addressing the security and socioeconomic challenges affecting the region; hence the formation of the state-owned security outfits in their respective states.

But then, the smile on the faces of some Zamfara residents soon turned to tears and gloom following reported excesses by the state-owned security outfit.

In Katsina, 1,500 young men and women were recruited from the eight local government areas considered the most affected by banditry, to take part in the security operations.

The government said they were selected bearing in mind their knowledge of the terrains, which is better than those of the conventional security agents.

The Initiators said those selected were trained in weapon handling, counterterrorism, first-aid, civil-military relations and other security related activities in order to complement the conventional security agents in mitigating the security challenges in their various towns and villages.

The outfit was said to have gone through a two-month training by experts in order to bring them up to the task ahead of them.

But like in Zamfara, the situation in Katsina is also under scrutiny following allegations that some of those selected to serve as vigilantes were abusing the opportunity to descend on suspects who have not been tried in the court of law.

For Kaduna’s KADVIS, the service was established under Law No. 10, 2016 by the immediate past governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai. The objective, like in the other states, is to strengthen the operations of the vigilante service, especially in the area of criminal detention.

Also, no fewer than 2,596 persons were recruited into the Sokoto Community Guard Corps, with majority of them brought from the 13 local government areas heavily infested by bandits.

Daily Trust Saturday learnt that among the operatives were retired security operatives who were said to be thoroughly screened to ascertain the cause of their retirement before being co-opted.

The security consultant engaged to recruit and train the operatives, Major- General Junaidu Bindawa (retd), said the guards were trained in different aspects of security management to enable them protect their communities.

A total of 30 patrol vehicles and 700 motorcycles were procured for the guards, while arms and sophisticated communication gadgets would also be provided for them in due course.

Complaints of excesses

Although governments in all the four states have succeeded in adhering to some procedures, such as incorporating traditional rulers and conventional security outfits in the screening exercises for the personnel, there are still allegations that many of the personnel had certain unacceptable traits.

This, according to some residents, paved the way for incorporating bad eggs into the outfits.

Initially, the Zamfara State Government intended to recruit 5,000 personnel, but after the screening exercise, only 2,645 scaled through, while others ended up in the custodies of the State Security Service (SSS) and the police for investigation on their questionable characters.

Also, the recruitment in Zamfara was alleged to be lopsided as the Fulani were said to be excluded, thereby paving way for an alleged persecution of members of that tribal group by personnel of the outfits.

This development is viewed by many as a precursor to a looming ethnic crisis between Hausa and Fulani tribes.

Few days into the operations, the CPG personnel were accused of an alleged murder of a prominent politician, Alhaji Magaji Lauwali, a resident of Yandoto village in Tsafe Local Government Area of the state.

The CPG personnel allegedly went to Yandoto on Saturday, February 10, 2024 and picked Lauwali and one Yahaya Galadima to their office in Tsafe town for questioning over their alleged involvement in banditry.

The duo denied the allegation, but they were said to have been detained and tortured at the facility for several hours.

According to Galadima, the survivor of the alleged torture, on arrival at the CPG office, a list of 31 people, including theirs, was shown to them, which the local guards said were “collaborators of bandits.”

The CPG personnel allegedly tied up their hands and locked them in a room. Around 2am, Galadima was brought out from the room and abandoned at the premises of the facility, but an hour later, he was taken to another room, while Magaji was left in the other room alone.

According to Galadima, who sustained bruises all over his arms, the CPG personnel had beaten them badly and kept them without food or water throughout their stay at the facility.

On Sunday, February 11, 2024, the CPG personnel were said to have apologised to them and set them free.

Later in the evening, the news of Magaji’s death was broken to the family, a situation that sparked controversy as residents of the town accused the CPG personnel of being behind his demise following his alleged torture.

Alhaji Nura, Lauwali’s eldest son, and his uncle, Malam Usman Musa, were also alleged to have been arrested, detained and tortured by the CPG personnel when the duo went to the operatives’ office in Tsafe to collect the cell-phone of the deceased.

Nura, in particular, was accused of calling two CPG personnel, Zainu and Siba on phone and threatened to kill them. The two were tortured by the local guards, who allegedly attempted to compel them to make statements against the late Lauwali under duress.

Some CPG personnel reportedly pointed guns at Nura and threatened to kill him if he refused to sign the statement the CPG operatives wrote about his late father.

It was further alleged that Nura’s uncle ordered him to comply with their directives in order to save their lives. And when the personnel returned for the third time, he succumbed to their demands by signing the documents, after which they were released around 10pm. Meanwhile, Malam Usman Musa was said to have sustained dislocation on his arm due to severe torture.

Again, on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, five personnel of the CPG on motorbikes allegedly stormed the residence of Sheikh Abubakar Hassan Mada, the chief imam of the second Juma’at mosque in Mada town and picked him.

Sheikh Mada was ordered to join one of the motorbikes by the Askarawa, who rode a few meters away from the town, killed him and abandoned his corpse at that spot.

According to a source close to Sheikh Mada’s family, when the cleric was arrested, the residents thought it was a normal arrest for investigation, only to find his lifeless body dumped outside the town.

The source said the chief imam was slaughtered like a ram, an unfortunate incident residents said they never witnessed in the community.

The then state commander of the Community Protection Guards, Colonel Rabi’u Yandoto (retd), when contacted by our reporter, confirmed the incident and said two CPG personnel had been arrested in connection with the murder.

Col Yandoto said: “Honestly, we did not give any order to our personnel for the arrest of the chief imam. In fact, the man was not on our wanted list. So, I wonder how he was arrested and killed.

“We have arrested those that are being accused. I will not protect anybody accused of murdering innocent people.

“We had a similar incident in Zurmi town, where some bandits in CPG uniforms attacked a village.”

However, less than 24 hours after the comment by the CPG state commander, the Zamfara State Government issued a counter statement, alleging that the Islamic scholar was killed by members of a vigilante group, not the CPG personnel.

The statement, signed by the governor’s spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris, noted that 10 members of the suspected vigilante group were arrested in connection with the murder.

The suspected killers, according to the statement, have been undergoing interrogation at a police facility in the state and would be charged to court for an alleged murder of the renowned Islamic scholar after investigation by the police.

Our correspondent reports that the uncertainty surrounding the state security outfit took a new turn on April 17, 2024 when the Zamfara State Government suspended Colonel Yandoto from office.

The suspension was contained in a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Abubakar Nakwada.

It stated, “This is to inform the general public that the Zamfara State Government has suspended the appointment of Colonel Rabiu Garba as the state commandant of the Protection Guards. The suspension takes immediate effect.”

Although no reason was given for his suspension, sources said it was in the aftermath of the interview he recently granted to a radio station, where he accused the state government of poor funding of the Community Protection Guards.

In the live programme at the Vision FM Radio, Gusau on April 15, Yandoto said the state government had failed to give financial support to the security outfit since its creation in January this year.

“After the initial pomp and pageantry that heralded the security outfit, there was no takeoff grant,” he alleged.

Garba also said officials of the Protection Guards were paid their salaries only once since they were appointed, four months ago.

He said: “We were paid our allowances only once since we assumed duty four months ago,” adding that the state government had stopped fuelling their patrol vehicles.

The government had refused to comment on the allegation but appointed Major Maikano Adamu (retd) as the new CPG commander.

The Commissioner for Information, Munnir Haidara, in a statement, noted that the appointment was with immediate effect.

Before his appointment, the new acting commandant was the immediate deputy commandant.

Issues in Katsina

Also, operatives of the Katsina State Community Watch Corps (CWC) that were once hailed as guardians of security are being accused of becoming a force of fear.

The most recent accusation against the corps was on the alleged extrajudicial killing of six Fulani herders in Matazu Local Government Area.

The BBC Hausa Service reported on April 24, 2024 that many others who sustained injuries were receiving treatment at a hospital in Katsina.

Bello Shehu, one of the elders residing in the Fulani settlement, recounted the “tormenting” event during the raid.

He alleged that the vigilantes descended on the settlement around 11 o’clock, setting fire to four houses and carrying out aggressive house-to-house search, ransacking the belongings of residents.

“In their frenzy, they began chasing and targeting youths; only women and children remained in the settlement as everyone else fled for safety.

“They showed no regard for the innocent, subjecting everyone to their aggression and maltreatment,” he said.

Shehu recounted how he managed to hide during the raid but witnessed the tragic outcome. “They arrested six young boys, and tragically, six of them were killed while the seventh was critically injured. Some fell to bullets while others were brutally slaughtered.

“Till today, we are unaware of any crime committed by the victims. We reported the incident to the divisional police officer in Matazu and the military commandant provided a vehicle to transport the victims’ remains,” he added.

However, the state government distanced the CWC operatives from the allegations.

The Commissioner for Security and Internal Affairs, Nasiru Muazu, told the BBC that he would make enquiries, saying he was not aware of the incident.

He said he had briefed Governor Radda, who promptly ordered a comprehensive investigation and instructed that appropriate action should be taken.

Before the latest incident in Katsina, a tale of the excesses of the state-recognised vigilante began with the alleged haunting of one Hamza Zakka. He was a vice chairman of a local government, whose voice was allegedly silenced by the CWC.

He was arrested and summarily executed. And his family’s cry for justice was drowned.

Also, in Mazoji village, Matazu Local Government Area of the state, some herders lamented that the operatives of the CWC, alongside some vigilantes, attacked their hamlets and set their huts on fire without a just cause.

Abdullahi Mamman Mazoji, one of the victims, accused their local vigilante of conniving with the CWC to commit theft.

“They set more than 25 houses ablaze, followed us to our grazing area and forcefully collected our cattle and moved them to Katsina. We were in Katsina up to 9 times but could not retrieve our cattle. They have collected more than 350 cows and about 43 sheep from us,” he alleged.

He further alleged that while in Katsina, they saw their cattle being sold to some butchers, but when they attempted to talk, they were intimidated.

In Batsari, a young man was reported to the CWC over some debt matter. The young man was arrested and detained without recourse to justice for over 25 days until the intervention of a human rights group.

Similarly, in Kaita Local Government Area, some Fulani settlements were allegedly attacked by the CWC personnel, who were said to be invited from Jibia Local Government Area.

During the attack, a woman and two children were said to be arrested and hundreds of sheep taken away, some of which were allegedly identified at Kagadama market on display for sale.

Some reports also indicated that the recent attacks at Burdugau and Yargoje towns in Malumfashi and Kankara local government areas were reprisals by bandits, who accused the CWC personnel of wiping away a family of seven, including an elderly person and an infant.

That incident reportedly led to the reprisal attacks on those two towns, according to a source that pleaded anonymity.

When contacted, the Katsina state Commissioner for Home Security, Dr Nasir Babangida Mu’azu, said the Katsina Community Watch Corps was established after due consideration of the provisions of the law.

He said the governor first transmitted a request to the state Assembly seeking for a legal backing for the outfit, which deliberated and came up with the law that was subsequently signed. He added that the law had a provision that empowered operatives of the corps to arrest and interrogate suspected bandits.

He said the outfit Itself was a child of necessity considering the wanton killings, kidnapping and other heinous activities perpetrated by bandits for years.

The commissioner, who was silent on the alleged excesses of the outfit, said the members were very much acquainted with the terrain worst hit by banditry, more than the conventional security agencies; hence they work hand in hand.

There were also reported cases of human right abuses and extrajudicial killings against some local vigilante groups operating within some communities in Kaduna State.

Recently, the state government ordered a full investigation into the alleged shooting of 12 people in Sabon Gero community in Chikun Local Government Area. The 12 were allegedly shot by men of the State Vigilante Service (KADVIS), although the leadership of the KADVIS denied the allegation.

It was reported that the incident occurred on June 12, 2023 when the personnel of the state security outfit tried to push back residents for attempting to stop the Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Authority (KASUPDA) from carrying out demolition in the community.

However, the police public relations officer, Kaduna State command, ASP Mansir Hassan, said that whenever they received complaints of torture against the local vigilantes, they always arrested and prosecuted them.

According to him, presently, there are some members of local vigilante groups in their custody accused of either torture or extrajudicial killings, and they are under investigation.

On his part, the chief press secretary to the Kaduna State governor, Muhammad Lawal Shehu, said the law establishing the security outfit was clear on its primary duties.

He said, “Such outfits are only meant to complement the efforts of conventional security agencies in the state. The law is clear on that,” he said.

Vigilantes killed 706 of our members – MACBAN

The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) recently expressed concern over the formation of local community guards by some state governments.

The association said that although they were formed with good intention to provide security and protect communities, the vigilante groups were turning out to have undesirable implications on innocent Nigerians.

The national chairman of the MACBAN, Baba Othman Ngelzarma, in a paid advertorial titled, ‘Open Letter to the President on the Establishment of Vigilante Groups,’ stated that due to their informal nature, such vigilante groups were operating outside the law, leading to lack of accountability for their actions.

“In 2023, we recorded 706 of our members that where extrajudicially killed and 193 injured with numerous pastoralists settlements, food items and valuable properties allegedly burned by various vigilante groups and bandits alike.

“The vigilante groups are exacerbating existing tensions between different ethnic, religious or socioeconomic groups, especially where they are operating along sectarian or tribal lines.

“The actions of these groups, when perceived as unjust or biased, can fuel a cycle of retaliation and revenge, thereby escalating violence, which further perpetuates conflict within communities,” the MACBAN leader noted in the statement he signed.

Ngelzarma stated that the proliferation of vigilante groups could fragment security efforts and complicate coordination between formal security forces and community-based initiatives, resulting inefficiencies in managing security challenges.

“Recently, possibly out of anger due to the formation of the Askarawa vigilante in Zamfara State, bandits launched an attack in Nasarawa Gotal community, killing many innocent farmers in the process without being protected by the established vigilante group.

“Consequent upon the formation of the Askarawa vigilante, report reaching us indicated that bandits had organised an assault on them, which resulted in the killing of so many members of the Askarawa vigilante with a lot of motorcycles, locally fabricated guns and uniforms belonging to the vigilante members carted away by bandits in Bingi village of Bungudu Local Government Area without the vigilante protecting themselves,” he further alleged.

The MACBAN chairman, therefore, called on the federal government to legally stop the operations of these groups and engage with the state governments to fashion out solutions to the underlying causes of insecurity and promote peace-building in the affected areas.

“Finally, we appeal to the Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to prevail on state governments to have a rethink regarding the formation of vigilante groups,” he added.

Vigilantes in the eye of law

A former attorney-general of Kano State, Mukhtar Ibrahim, said the Nigerian constitution had not empowered state governments to form security outfits that would operate like the police at the state level, saying, “Whatever name state governments may call them, provided they are doing police jobs, operations of such outfits stand to be unconstitutional.

“The power of prosecution lies solely on the attorney-general of the federation, attorneys-general in states and the police. It also lies on some specific agencies, such as Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Therefore, the security outfits being established by state governments have no power in the constitution to do the work of the police – arrest, detain, interrogate and prosecute.

“The constitution states that any law that collides with it or an act of the National Assembly cannot stand.

“However, with the recent statement by the president on the establishment of state police, the state governors and the federal government can go back to the drawing board and amend the existing laws to pave way for the formation of state police.”

Ibrahim, however, said that considering the level of insecurity in the country, state police would greatly help in containing the situation if properly formed and handled. He added that originally, vigilante groups operate voluntarily, therefore, with little allowances, training and working tools they are getting from the government, they can work hard in addressing the security challenges in the country.

“But our major problem is mismanagement; we can form such outfits but ended up abusing them. If Nigeria can borrow a leaf from the American system of police, where each state can form its own police but controlled by the federal government and with a definite classification of duties, it can help in curtailing the security challenges the country is facing,” he said

However, the Sokoto State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Nasiru Binji, said the state’s Security Guards Corps had the constitutional power to make arrests.

“Even a private individual has the power to make arrest where necessary. Such power is also extended to the personnel of the SCG. But they do not have the power to detain or investigate anybody. After arrest, they can only handover to the police or any appropriate security agency for further action.

“You can only detain if you have the power to investigate. So, since they don’t have the power to investigate, why should they detain a suspect? So, here in Sokoto, our security personnel don’t have the power to detain or investigate a suspect or any criminal, but they have the power to arrest and handover to the appropriate security agency,” he affirmed.

Operatives also endangered

Daily Trust Saturday observed that virtually all the outfits in the four states bear pump-action guns as their operating weapons, unlike the bandits who carry AK47, AK49, Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs), General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMGs) and anti-aircraft guns, among other sophisticated weapons. This has exposed many of the vigilantes to danger. For instance, a senior commander of the Zamfara State Community Protection Guard, Aminu Sarkin-Baura and one other unnamed official of the outfit were recently killed while repelling an attack by terrorists on Tsafe town.

Residents said the terrorists invaded the town, which is the headquarters of Tsafe Local Government Area, around noon and kidnapped 14 road construction workers in Area 2.

Residents said Sarkin-Baura and his team had joined soldiers in responding to a distress call on the attack, but the terrorists fought back, burning two operational vehicles of the army and the state security guards.

Governor Lawal, in a Facebook post, condoled with the families of the deceased persons, residents of Tsafe and the state.

“The attempt by the terrorists to invade Tsafe was resisted by our joint security task force. I condole with the families of those who lost their lives in the attack, especially the family of the late commander, Aminu Sarkin Baura Tsafe, who lost his life in his resolve to protect his people. May his soul rest in peace,” the governor said.

A security expert who pleaded anonymity said there was no comparison between pump-action guns and the automated weapons the bandits bear.

Motorcycles were procured for the guards, while arms and sophisticated communication gadgets would also be provided for them in due course. (Daily Trust)

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