It was a member of the Niger State House of Assembly, Abdullahi Isah, who first raised the alarm on the floor of the legislature that those he described as gunmen and bandits had overrun and taken over one of the country’s largest military training camps located in Kontagora, headquarters of Kontagora Local Government Area of the state. Speaking on a motion brought before the house, the legislator claimed that the training camp, situated at the Nagwamase Military Cantonment, where the artillery corps of the Nigerian Army undergoes training, was under the control of the terrorists who had not only chased out no less than 23 communities across Kontagora and Maniga local government areas, but had established eight different camps in the forest areas where they harbour kidnapped victims and collect ransom from beleaguered relatives.

Despite the swift and vigorous denial of the military authorities of this grave allegation, the Niger State legislature doubled down on its claim when the Speaker of the House, Abdulmalik Sarkindaji, urged the army “to stop living in denial” over the presence of bandits on its training ground. He alleged that since the rebuttal of the report by the military, the terrorists had unleashed terror on communities in the areas, blocking the Minna-Kontagora road, killing about 13 vigilante members in Mariga Local Government Area and abducting an unknown number of passengers from vehicles on the blocked highway. Urging the military to speedily flush out the bandits from the area, the speaker said “As members representing our people, we get feedback from our constituents of their plight so before we present anything on the floor of the house; we have done our investigation very well”.

But in presenting information purportedly emanating from their constituents on the floor of the house, it is important that the legislators be sure of the veracity of their assertions so as not to end up worsening an admittedly fragile security situation. For instance, in its earlier resolution on the matter, the house had called on Governor.

Mohammed Umar Bago to liaise with the military to bring the situation under control. As the chief security officer of the state, it surely would not have been out of place for the legislature to have discussed the matter personally with the governor before raising an alarm that could cause panic within and beyond the state.

Again, the clarification of the military on the issue indicates that the house had little or no communication with the former before going public with its allegations. The duty and responsibility of the legislature, particularly with regard to security in a sensitive state like Niger, is too serious to be treated in a cavalier and sensational manner. According to the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major-General Edward Buba, “No inch of the training camp has been ceded to terrorists”. Describing the allegations as inaccurate and incorrect, he stated that “While it is understandable that troops have recorded encounters with terrorists in the course of operating in the general area, no inch of the training area has been ceded to terrorists. Indeed, troops constantly eliminate the threat posed by terrorists crisscrossing the vast area; our clearance operations in the area have denied the terrorists freedom of action”. Thus, the military does not deny encounters with terrorists in the area but asserts that the alleged successes of the enemy have been grossly exaggerated.

It is unfortunate and unprofessional that the media reported the allegations in the first place without seeking the position of the military for balance.

We recall that at their recent meeting to review the state of their region and the country, governors and traditional rulers from the North commended the military for recent successes in the war against banditry and terrorism in the region. It is important that we do not inadvertently propagate information that emboldens the criminals while demoralising security agents who put their lives on the line to defend our lives and property.

Better still; the government should do a private investigation of the matter to ascertain the actual state of affairs in the place. (The Nation Editorial)