No Mercy For Bandits, Ndume Says

By James Orji

Senator Ali Ndume has never supported the idea of treating criminals operating in Nigeria’s North east and North west, such as Boko Haram and bandits with kid gloves. The Senator representing Borno South in the National Assembly has again thrown his weight behind Nigerians who insist that the only way to end criminality in the country is to totally route them.

The lawmaker who was once accused of sponsoring Boko Haram in his state, Borno and later declared innocent by the court has, again upped the ante by joining those that believe that the criminals should not be treated with mercy, rather they should be sent to God for judgment,in the words of Femi Adesina, President Muhammadu Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity.

“In their scores, scores upon scores, they are being spoken to in the language they understand, and sent to God to answer for their sins. One has never been prouder of our military”, Adesina said recently.

While endorsing the ongoing onslaught against bandits, including, Ndume who is also the Chairman, Senate Committee on the Army said it is good that the armed forces have now taken the war to the criminals.

The senator had also ruffled feathers after he opposed the plan by the federal government to grant amnesty to over 5000 boko haram members and their families who surrendered to the military in Borno state. The returning insurgents must be tried for their crime, he said contrary to the position of the governor of his state, Prof. Babagana Mungonu.

The armed forces have recorded solid gains in the war against the bandits who are killing and kidnapping people in Zamfara and Katsina states, by pushing the criminal underground, including the neutralization of key bandit leaders. As a result of the success, Governor Bello Matawalle recently claimed that the bandits are up for a dialogue with the government, but said they have been rebuffed.

The senator said what the military has done so far is in line with their rule of engagement, in his response to media reports that the rights of the criminals were being abused.

For instance, controversial Islamic cleric, Dr Ahmed Gumi recently berated the intensification of the war against the bandits, claiming that innocent women and children of the bandits are the ones being killed by soldiers.

Senator Ndume however stated that the bandits are getting what they deserved for taking up arms against the country and killing and kidnapping people for ransom. He said the bandits have inflicted so much pains on the country for them to deserve being treated with kid gloves.

According to him “After hearing this kind of thing, I beg you, the press, to be objective in your reporting. We are facing serious problem of banditry and kidnapping, and it affects all of us.

“When the army stands up to the occasion and start taking the fight to the bandits and achieving results, the next thing you would start talking about is human rights, mass killings and all that.

“What of the rights of the people that were killed, the women raped and the ambush to kill our soldiers?”