US Army Officer Names Real Sponsors Of Banditry In Nigeria

Capt. Bish Johnson (rtd) of the United States Army has expressed concerns about the issues of banditry and kidnapping in Nigeria, suggesting that these activities are being fueled by foreign interests collaborating with influential individuals within the country.

In a recent interview on national television, Johnson emphasized that some of the key sponsors behind these criminal activities might not be Nigerian citizens.

“I also believe that there are some foreign sponsors of this banditry that we see in the country where they kidnap and abduct people just to divert our attention to the abduction while they are abusing, illicitly mining our mineral resources in connivance with highly placed individuals in Nigeria,” he said.

Johnson said those involved include people within and outside government structures.

“Some of whom may be in the government, some retired, and some top-level government officials,” he said.

The former army officer said insecurity in the country is largely driven by syndicated operations motivated by commercial interests.

He said banditry and kidnapping had become commercialised enterprises where individuals make fortunes from the misfortune of others.

His words: “Nigerians have always had this impression that the insecurity in the country is some kind of complicity from within the government.

“I have always insisted and maintained that most of the insecurity is syndicated operations that involve so many components, people, and so many elements, all of them working together for the same purposes, which are commercial reasons.

“Banditry, kidnapping has become a commercialised enterprise where people are making a lot of fortunes over the misfortune of others.

“Some of you are fuelled by the unregulated and illicit mining of our mineral resources in the far north, and also fuelled by the vulnerabilities in our borders around that sector between Niger, Chad, and northern Cameroon.”

Johnson said allegations of connivance or complicity by individuals in Nigeria should be treated as serious security concerns.

He said all information relating to insecurity should be thoroughly investigated regardless of its source.