Rural Banditry and Conflicts in Northern Nigeria
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RURAL BANDITRY AND CONFLICTS IN NORTHERN NIGERIA CENTRE FOR DEMOCRACY AND DEVELOPMENT EDITED BY: PROF. MOHAMMED J. KUNA & DR. JIBRIN IBRAHIM CENTRE FOR DEMOCRACY AND DEVELOPMENT 1 This Publication was made possible by the following: Centre for Democracy and Development, Pastoral Resolve(PARE) and Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Programme (NSRP) 2 A Publication of : Centre of Democracy and Development CITECT Estate Abuja E-mail:[email protected] First Published in Nigeria by CDD, 2016 ISBN: 978-978-952-168-5. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmied in any form or means, electronic. mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise, without prior wrien permission of CDD 3 Table of Contents FOREWORD 5 PREFACE 7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 10 NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS 11 THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF RURAL BANDITRY IN CONTEMPORARY NIGERIA 13 CHANGING METHODS OF ANIMAL HUSBANDRY, CATTLE RUSTLING AND RURAL BANDITRY IN NIGERIA 69 THE EFFECT OF ARMED BANDITRY ON RURAL WOMEN'S LIVELIHOOD AND SECURITY: CASE STUDY OF KADUNA & PLATEAU STATES, NIGERIA 111 SOCIAL IMPACT OF RURAL BANDITRY 167 THE STATE OF GRAZING RESERVES AND THEIR POTENTIAL CAPACITY TO ABSORB PASTORALISTS 189 HERDERS' AND FARMERS' ASSOCIATIONS AND SOCIAL CONFLICTS IN NORTHERN NIGERIA 217 RURAL BANDITRY AND HATE SPEECH IN NORTHERN NIGERIA: FERTILE GROUND FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF DANGEROUS NARRATIVES IN THE MEDIA 257 4 Table of Contents RURAL BANDITRY AND SOCIAL CONFLICTS IN PLATEAU STATE 319 RURAL BANDITRY AND CONFLICTS IN KADUNA STATE, NORTHERN NIGERIA 353 PASTORAL TRANSHUMANCE AND DYNAMICS OF SOCIAL CONFLICT IN NASARAWA STATE, NORTH-CENTRAL NIGERIA 389 5 Foreword This book arose from the concerns of a group of Nigerian civil society activists, academics, development practitioners, politicians and policy makers on the frequent incidence and ravaging impact of violence in rural communities in Northern Nigeria. In 2013, these incidences of violence, which took the form of midnight raids by unknown bandits on sleepy villagers, had led to the sacking of communities in parts of Plateau, Benue, Taraba and Kaduna states. A major concern of thegroup was that media reports of the incidents did not indicate the existence of tensions among communal, religious or ethnic groups prior to the aacks. However, media reports of the apparently 'senseless' violence uncritically assumed that the violence was perpetrated by 'Fulani' herdsmen. It is against this background that the stakeholders approached the Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Programme (NSRP) to convene a meeting aimed at making sense of what senseless violence. The brainstorming session, which aracted renowned researchers, academics, civil society activists, politicians and policy makers, only scratched the surface of what was regarded as a complex phenomenon. The main finding of the session was that the country was faced with violence associated with the collapse of governance and absence of law and order in rural Nigeria. This situation of anomie has become a hospitable environment for banditry in the country. However, the meeting resolved that more research was 6 needed to shed light on the multiple causes of banditry, the actors involved, their motivations, the validity of popularised causal narrative that indict pastoralists, the scale of the phenomenon and its impact. The stakeholders proposed that NSRP should consider commissioning a research on the causes and impact of rural banditry in Northern Nigeria. It was suggested that the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) and the Pastoral Resolve that have worked on the issues from the research and practitioner perspectives respectively should facilitate the research. The book is the outcome of two years endeavour. The contributors are seasoned academics, activists and practitioners that draw on theoretical insights and local knowledge of the contexts to help us beer understand the multiple variables driving banditry and how the phenomenon has become more complex over time. Given the history of the book project, the authors not only provide analysis but also draw aention to the policy implications of their findings. Ahead of this book, three policy briefs have been published and disseminated to policy makers, academics and practitioners in Kaduna and Plateau states, which are among the worse affected states. It is hoped that this volume will help to fill the gap in knowledge on the phenomenon of rural banditry and serve as a valuable resource material for policy makers and practitioners who are seeking for solutions to the violence that has undermined human security in Northern Nigeria in the past 5 years. Dr. Ukoha Ukiwo Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Programme (NSRP) Abuja 7 Preface n the last decade, rural banditry and violent conflicts between pastoralists and farmers in Nigeria have been on the rise. This Isocial conflict has traditionally consisted of disputes over natural resources and is often presented as a conflict between selers and nomadic people. However, what began as conflict between pastoralists and farmers over land has recently developed into rural banditry with heavy human and economic cost, ranging from the sexual assault of women and girls, aacks on villages, to cale rustling, amongst others. The bandits traversing Benue, Plateau, Niger, Kwara, Nassarawa, Zamfara, Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi, Kano are involved in crimes such as armed robbery and kidnapping. There have also been reported cases of rural banditry in Delta, Enugu, Ondo, Oyo and Ebonyi states. In response, a military-led offensive was ordered by the Federal Government and a state of emergency declared by State Governors in Northern Nigeria against cale rustlers and bandits. These are beginning to yield positive results. However, the ongoing reign of bandits in rural communities within northern Nigerian continues to heighten public insecurity. The death toll resulting from the activities of cale rustlers, and the seemingly intractable conflict over limited resources between farmers and herdsmen, is alarming. For example, in the space of only a month, between January 1st and February 2nd 2016, around 100 people have been allegedly killed across Nassarawa, Benue, Taraba, Kaduna and Abuja. 8 It is in the light of the foregoing that this research was undertaken by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) and the Pastoral Resolve (PARE), with the support of the Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Programme (NSRP). The research aims to systematically unravel the root causes of rural banditry and social conflicts in Nigeria, with specific aention placed on the northern Nigeria. The frequency and intensity of rural banditry in recent years is cause for serious concern. In our view, most efforts to understand rural banditry in contemporary Nigeria are simplistic and have not provided a framework for beer understanding of its varied forms, causes, paerns and dimensions. This book offers an in-depth analysis of these previously under explored issues. Examining the root causes of rural banditry and social conflict requires an understanding of its historical trajectory, social contexts, development and the dynamics of the often conflictual, but also symbiotic relationship between two production systems (agricultural and pastoral) that not only depend on land and its related resources, but are also fundamentally different in important respects. It is against this backdrop that we undertook a broad interrogation of the economic and social forces that might have triggered the current realities. The 10 chapters of this book focus on wide-ranging issues, including: cale rustling; animal husbandry; transhumance; grazing reserves; herdsmen and farmers association; media and construction of popular narratives; social impact of the phenomenon; and women's livelihoods. The findings of the 10 reports reveal that factors which account for rural banditry and social conflicts include: ecological and climate change and consistent shift in the human and livestock population; expansion in non-agricultural use of land; weak state capacity and the provision of security; proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALWs); rise of criminality and insecurity in rural areas; 9 and weakening or collapse of informal conflict resolution mechanisms. The reports also draw aention to the international dimensions of rural banditry and social conflicts, from the perspective of the rising incidences of cross-border crimes and how it impacts on the proliferation of SALWs in Nigeria. The book incorporates recommendations to policy makers and other relevant stakeholders that, if considered and implemented, may help mitigate and manage this challenging phenomenon. Idayat Hassan Director, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) February 2016 10 Acknowledgement he Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) expresses its profound appreciation to all researchers who contributed Tto this book. This book project would not have been completed without the support of our partner, The Pastoral Resolve (PARE). We acknowledge the leadership of Prof. Mohammed J. Kuna and Dr. Jibrin Ibrahim, the editors of the book. We acknowledge the contributions of Prof. Dung Pam Sha, Prof. Oshita Oshita, Prof. Augustine Ikelebe, Mrs. Kemi Okenyodo, Dr. Garuba Dauda, Dr. Kole Sheima, Dr. Otive Igbuzor, and Ms Julie Sanda for their reviews and useful insights which no doubt enriched the content of this book. We acknowledge the funding support provided by the British Council through the Nigeria Stability and