By Chukwudi Ebele
Human Rights Lawyer and Social Critic Sir Ifeanyichukwu Ejiofor Esq in his recent article titled ‘THE DANGEROUS HYPOCRISY OF NEGOTIATING WITH TERROR’ has advised communities to develop lawful and effective vigilance mechanisms instead of depending only on the Military or Police in the fight against insecurity.
“THE DANGEROUS HYPOCRISY OF NEGOTIATING WITH TERROR: Major General Rabe Abubakar’s Death in Captivity, the Katsina Question, and the Tragedy of a Nation at War with Itself
“While Hundreds of Innocent Igbo Youths Remain Detained Under Wrongful Categorization
“There was a time in the history of this nation when patriotism was not a subject of ridicule; when military service represented the highest expression of national loyalty; and when the uniform of a soldier commanded reverence rather than sympathy.
“Those were years before hypocrisy became institutionalized, before ethnic distrust became weaponized, before insecurity became commercialized, and before public officials were routinely accused of compromising with forces determined to dismantle the very nation they swore solemnly to defend.
“Joining the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was then regarded as a sacred calling. It symbolized discipline, sacrifice, courage, honour, and an unwavering commitment to the defence of the territorial integrity and indivisibility of our nation.
“It is therefore safe to assume that these noble ideals inspired the late Major General Rabe Abubakar and countless members of his generation to embrace military service.
“In several of my previous interventions, I have expressed grave concern regarding the increasing tendency of certain state authorities to engage armed bandits through negotiations, accommodations, understandings, and arrangements which many Nigerians have consistently viewed as dangerous, counterproductive, and fundamentally incompatible with any serious counterterrorism strategy.
“Indeed, the Honourable Minister of Defence publicly maintained that neither government officials nor state governments should negotiate with terrorists or bandits. Yet despite such declarations, reports, and public perceptions of continued engagements persist.
“Against this backdrop, I was particularly astonished by reports suggesting that the Katsina State Government attributed the death of Major General Rabe Abubakar while in captivity to what was described as “natural causes.”
“Natural causes?
“A retired Major General was abducted alongside his wife, deprived of his liberty, subjected to uncertainty, fear, humiliation, psychological trauma, and the unimaginable conditions that typically accompany captivity at the hands of ruthless jihadist terrorists.
“Under such circumstances, any attempt to casually attribute his death to “natural causes” inevitably provokes profound and legitimate questions.
“Questions that deserve answers.
Questions that should not be dismissed. Questions that call for transparent, independent, and credible investigation.
“For whenever government appears more eager to explain away a tragedy than to rigorously interrogate its circumstances, public confidence inevitably suffers.
Across large swathes of Northern Nigeria, particularly in parts of Katsina, Zamfara, Niger, and even sections of Borno State, numerous reports over the years have painted a deeply disturbing picture of communities living under the effective influence and coercive control of armed non-state actors.
In some locations, residents reportedly pay levies, taxes, protection fees, or other forms of tribute merely to survive.
“This is happening in real time.
This is not governance.
This is not sovereignty.
This is not state authority.
It is the gradual normalization of insecurity.
It is the dangerous consequence of allowing criminals to evolve into alternative centres of power.
“History teaches that whenever the State begins to share authority with armed criminal enterprises, the inevitable outcome is the erosion of legitimate governance.
And once criminality acquires political utility, national security becomes dangerously compromised.
“Yet the irony becomes even more troubling when one juxtaposes this reality with the treatment frequently meted out to innocent citizens elsewhere.
“In the South-East, numerous young men have been arrested, abducted, detained, and subjected to prolonged incarceration under broad and often controversial security classifications.
Some were artisans.Some were drivers.Some were gardeners.
Some were personal assistants.
Some were ordinary citizens whose only crime was finding themselves within the wrong proximity to suspicion.
“Thus emerges one of the greatest contradictions of contemporary Nigeria.
While innocent citizens are subjected to prolonged detention on the basis of suspicion, association, or mere perception, actual terrorist networks continue to expand operational footprints, establish territorial influence, impose levies upon vulnerable communities, abduct citizens with alarming frequency, and challenge state authority in broad daylight.
“How long shall this contradiction endure?
“How long shall Nigerians continue to witness a system where perceived dissent attracts swift and overwhelming state action, while armed terrorists negotiate from positions of strength?
“How long shall the nation tolerate a security architecture that appears uncompromising toward the powerless yet hesitant toward those wielding the instruments of terror?
“These are uncomfortable questions.
But they are necessary questions.
For terrorism does not thrive merely because terrorists exist.
It thrives because of silence.
It thrives because of compromise.
It thrives because of appeasement.
It thrives because some individuals profit from instability while ordinary citizens pay the ultimate price.
“The death of Major General Rabe Abubakar must not be reduced to a fleeting news cycle or a passing headline. Rather, it should serve as a national moment of introspection.
A moment to honestly evaluate whether Nigeria is genuinely confronting terrorism or merely managing it.
“A moment to determine whether certain actors within the system have become too comfortable coexisting with forces that ought to be decisively dismantled.
Most importantly, it should be a moment that compels government at every level to reaffirm that no terrorist group, no matter how powerful, can ever be allowed to become a parallel authority.
Finally, let me reiterate a position I have consistently maintained, particularly to our brothers and sisters in the South-East and indeed across Nigeria:
Security remains everybody’s business. Communities must remain vigilant. Forests and ungoverned spaces must never be permitted to become safe havens for jihadist bandits masquerading as herdsmen or operating under whatever nomenclature they choose to adopt.
“No society can afford to outsource its entire security responsibility to military and police institutions, especially where those institutions are overstretched and, at times, undermined by internal sabotage, inadequate resources, and systemic challenges.
“Every community must therefore develop lawful and effective vigilance mechanisms. Every suspicious activity must attract scrutiny.
Every credible threat must attract immediate attention.
“For history teaches a painful lesson:
When decent people become indifferent to their own security, those who despise peace inevitably fill the vacuum.
“And by the time the consequences arrive, they rarely discriminate between tribe, religion, region, language, ethnicity, or political affiliation.
“The terrorists certainly do not.
Nigeria must therefore decide whether it intends to defeat terrorism or merely coexist with it.
History will judge that decision.
And posterity will remember those who made it,” said Ejiofor.