Not All Who Are Involved In Banditry Joined Willingly – CDS Musa

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, has revealed that many individuals involved in banditry were forced into the criminal activity rather than joining voluntarily.

He disclosed this during an address in Abuja on Saturday after receiving 58 rescued kidnap victims from the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

General Musa also accused certain individuals of sabotaging the Nigerian government’s efforts to combat insurgency, assuring that such actions would not go unchecked.

Addressing the plight of the victims, he stated: “You can see from the people, the women, the children, both girls and boys, and the little one.

“The question you want to ask is why would somebody kidnap these kinds of people? If you see them, they are barely just surviving.”

He emphasized that not all bandits willingly participated in criminal activities, with some being conscripted into these groups against their will. He pledged that security forces would ensure justice for the victims.

“For the innocent blood they have spilled, for those they have restricted their freedom, the security personnel will get back at them, and they will face the law,” the CDS asserted.

General Musa also highlighted that no ransom was paid to secure the victims’ release, emphasizing the military’s use of non-kinetic strategies to achieve the rescue.

He appealed to Nigerians for greater support in the fight against insecurity, stressing that collective efforts are crucial to success.

The National Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Center, Maj. Gen. Adamu Laka, revealed that preliminary investigations identified the captors as armed bandits under the notorious terrorist leader, Janbros.

He explained that the victims were forced to trek hundreds of kilometers to a dense forest in Birnin Gwari.

Six of the victims, initially hospitalized, have now recovered and reunited with others for transfer to their families.

Laka assured that the government provided the necessary assistance to stabilize the victims, including medical care and rehabilitation plans.

The Kaduna State Governor’s Chief of Staff, Sani Limankila, called on citizens to collaborate with security forces to eradicate kidnapping and banditry.

The 58 rescued victims, including 35 males and 23 females, were abducted from their homes and farmlands in Gayam, Sabon Layi, and Kwaga villages in Katsina State’s Dan Musa Local Government Area.

Troops from the 1 Division of the Nigerian Army successfully rescued them on November 14.