Senate orders crackdown on bandits flaunting crime cash on TikTok

 

Abuja, FCT – By Prime Brief Media

A damning investigation has revealed that thousands of communities across Sokoto, Anambra, Niger, Kaduna, Plateau, Zamfara, Kwara, and Imo states have been left without police presence after terrorists, bandits, and armed groups systematically forced the abandonment or destruction of police stations over the past three years.

The Saturday Punch investigation, which involved extensive field reporting across the affected states, found that in many local government areas, the Nigeria Police Force has simply withdrawn from the countryside, leaving a vast security vacuum that has been filled by vigilantes, hunters, and informal self-defence groups. The development has left millions of residents vulnerable to kidnappings, armed robberies, and violent attacks.

In Zamfara State, for example, no fewer than 40 police stations and outposts have been abandoned or destroyed since 2023, according to community leaders. In Sokoto, the situation is similarly dire, with bandits operating with near impunity across vast swathes of the eastern senatorial district. In Imo and Anambra states, the activities of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network, have forced the closure of dozens of police facilities.

The investigation found that many police officers and rank-and-file personnel have been relocated to urban centres and state capitals, leaving rural communities to fend for themselves. Community leaders told journalists that they now rely entirely on local vigilantes and hunters for security, with predictable consequences in terms of accountability and effectiveness.

"The police have abandoned us. The nearest station is over 40 kilometres away, and even that one is not fully functional. When bandits come, we are on our own. Sometimes the vigilantes can repel them; sometimes they cannot. We bury our dead and continue," a community leader in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara told the newspaper.

The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has previously acknowledged the challenge of policing rural areas but has insisted that the Force is working to rebuild damaged facilities and redeploy personnel. However, the investigation suggests that the gap between official assurances and the reality on the ground remains vast.

Prime Brief Media will continue to track security and rescue efforts across the state as this story develops.

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