Thread by @Chxta

This is Senator Ibrahim Gobir (APC, Sokoto East)

Yesterday, there was a motion on the floor of the Senate by Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (APC, Niger North) on the need to expand the military onslaught against bandits.

Senator Gobir, contributing to Senator Abdullahi's motion dropped a bombshell.

“The situation is so bad that we only get help from Niger Republic,” he was quoted as saying by @daily_trust bit.ly/2XdjC7l

Yesterday, @NewsWireNGR website had this report: bit.ly/2Xh1JVp

In part it reads, "In-country however, community theft has gone up, armed robbery cases have become rampant, and increased police brutality is being seen across the country."

"In Kubwa, Abuja, local community policing is replacing the government. Residents continue to fear increases in crime will overwhelm the police stations and are setting up vigilante groups street by street."

"Local vigilante’s notified of the incident just after it occurred did a stop and search and found a car suspected to have been used by the robbers."

These two taken together are particularly scary.

First, @DefenceInfoNG is deployed pretty much all over #Nigeria, and we have @PoliceNG posts everywhere including Kubwa.

Yet, citizens have to resort to self-help, WHICH MEANS THAT MORE VIOLENCE IS ON THE WAY.

Of course citizens will have to resort to self-help when even @PoliceNG cannot protect themselves. This chart, from an @sbmintelligence report (bit.ly/3e6fXPN), shows just how much under siege even the police is.

But in the larger geopolitical picture, consider the implications of the statement by a sitting Senator, on the floor of the Senate.

It means Senator Gobir’s statement is a matter of public record. He MUST have been certain of what he was saying before he uttered those words!

Reading between the lines, Senator Gobir said, @HQNigerianArmy cannot protect the territorial integrity of #Nigeria, thus Nigerians have to turn to help from our neighbouring #NigerRepublic!

Who gave the Nigerien soldiers the right to be on Nigerian soil in the first place?

Was it a matter of expediency?

Sokoto East shares a border with Niger.

Were the Nigerien soldiers 5km away on Nigerien soil, and because @HQNigerianArmy failed to respond to Nigerian calls for help, breached #Nigeria's territorial integrity to help Nigerian citizens?

In Kubwa who gave the local vigilante the right to start doing stop and search?

These things are linked and let me tell you how...

Both of them show diminishing confidence in the ability of #Nigeria's security services, so naturally, people will turn to where they logically believe that they can get help, in the case of Kubwa, to local vigilante, in the case of Sokoto East, to foreigners.

Both the same outcome - the weakening of the Nigerian state.

But hey, let's be enjoying the theatrics by paid hacks while the state burns under our feet.

I'll be doing an examination of violence #Nigeria, "Yet not at war" along with the erudite @c_kwaja, on behalf of @Globalrightsng.

2pm this afternoon on Zoom. We'll be moderated by @GMabeiam

Don't miss it.