Why It Matters When Nigeria Criminals Are Called 'Unknown Gunmen'

Since 2015, parts of northern Nigeria have witnessed a steady increase in insecurity and violent attacks. Civilians and government security forces have been the victims. Numerous data tracking sources have shown an escalation of incidents since January 2021.

But there appears to be a difference between perpetrators' actions and the way they are labeled. The government calls them 'bandits' and 'unknown gunmen'. Others have insisted that a more appropriate description would be 'terrorists', writes Sallek Yaks Musa for The Conversation Africa.

The government has been severely criticized for failing to tackle the country's widespread insecurity, with killings and kidnappings for ransom by armed groups on the rise. 

The Senate has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to declare bandits as terrorists and wage a total war against them. Violent attacks have continued despite the deployment of thousands of security forces as well as the blocking of internet and mobile phone services in much of the northwest of the country.

The bandits finance their operations by kidnapping civilians for ransom. Hundreds of learners have been taken in various incidents in the northern part of the country since December 2020. Most have been released after ransom negotiations, but only after weeks or months in captivity. Some state governments have temporarily closed schools to protect learners.

Meanwhile, at least 43 people died in an attack after gunmen raided the open-air market in Goronyo, Sokoto State. President Muhammadu Buhari has sympathised with the families of victims killed, and called on Nigerians "not to despair"' but "continue to be patient" as the authorities are "more determined than ever before to protect Nigerians".