Why Militia, Bandit Collusion Is Bad News for Nigeria

The Nigerian state has come under severe security stress in recent times. It has faced multiple national security threats: jihadist groups in the north-east; armed bandits in the north-west; militia secessionists in the south-east; and militancy in the south-south. Thousands of people have died or been displaced, writes Folahanmi Aina for The Conversation.

Much has been written about this banditry, including its linkages to the country's farmer-herder crisis - the tensions over grazing for livestock. But there appears to be a new trend in the bandits' way of operating which warrants attention. 

Bandits are mostly known for their pursuit of economic opportunism. They are mostly interested in enriching themselves rather than taking other kinds of power. Militant  groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa Province are rather driven by political ideology. But armed bandits have demonstrated a willingness to work alongside militants in the northwest. The government has said this may have been the case in the attack on an Abuja-Kaduna bound train, in which more than 160 commuters were abducted in a militia-style attack. There have also been records that point to arms trading between bandits and militias in Nigeria.

To avert disaster, the Nigerian government must act fast, and intensify covert action to disrupt the potential consolidation of partnerships between armed bandits and militia groups, Folahanmi Aina writes.