When Silence Meets Violence — Who Will The State Blame This Time?
In the wake of the shocking abduction of the Deputy Speaker of the Kebbi State House of Assembly, Hon. Samaila Bagudo, by armed bandits, a dark cloud of truth has finally settled over the North-Western state. The chilling incident, which occurred shortly after evening prayers in Bagudo town, is more than a personal tragedy — it is a devastating indictment of a government that has spent years denying what everyone else could see: that Kebbi State is bleeding beneath a blanket of official silence.
For a state that has long paraded itself as “one of the most peaceful in Nigeria,” the abduction of its second-highest lawmaker right in his hometown raises haunting questions: If a Deputy Speaker isn’t safe in Kebbi, who is? Where were the security patrols officials boasted about? And how many more denials must precede a funeral before someone in authority admits the truth?
A Crime That Shattered the Myth
Eyewitnesses reported that the attackers stormed Bagudo town around 8:20 p.m., moments after the Deputy Speaker had finished his Isha’i prayers. Armed to the teeth, the bandits whisked him away to an unknown destination, firing sporadically into the air and sending terrified residents running for cover.
Police spokesperson, CSP Nafiu Abubakar, confirmed the abduction and assured that “joint operations involving police, military, and vigilantes have been launched.” Yet these words sound eerily similar to the recycled press statements that follow every tragedy — statements that promise action but deliver silence, that preach calm but conceal paralysis.
The irony is bitter. Only weeks ago, the same police command dismissed reports by the Nigerian Bar Association, Kebbi Branch, which had raised alarms over deteriorating security in nine local government areas. At the time, the Police PRO called the claims “exaggerated” and assured that Kebbi was “under control.”
Now, even the Deputy Speaker isn’t safe.
The State of Denial
The Kebbi State Government has mastered the art of cosmetic peace — painting the illusion of calm while the people live under siege.
In October, when news broke that bandits had invaded Maku-Ku village in Sakaba LGA, the Commissioner for Information swiftly dismissed the reports as “fake news” and urged citizens to “disregard fabrications by mischief-makers.” That denial has not aged well.
Weeks later, the state’s second citizen was kidnapped.
Similarly, when local communities cried out over serial kidnappings in Danko-Wasagu and Zuru, the Ministry of Internal Security rebuked the reports, claiming they were “politically motivated exaggerations.” The official statement even boasted that “our security forces are effectively handling the situation.”
But what “situation” is that? The one where armed bandits roam with impunity, or the one where silence has become a policy?
When Leaders Pretend, Citizens Perish
This latest abduction brutally exposes the governance gap in Kebbi. It strips away years of denial, propaganda, and inflated claims of stability. The people of Kebbi — particularly those in the southern axis — have long whispered their fears in the shadows, afraid of being branded alarmists. But after this, the whispers have become wails.
The Deputy Speaker’s abduction proves one inescapable truth: the government is not in control.
If a man guarded by police escorts, recognized by law, and respected by power can be snatched in the night without a trace, what then becomes of the farmer in Sakaba, the student in Wasagu, or the trader in Koko-Besse?
And where are the federal legislators from Kebbi State — those who, just last month, issued a statement describing Kebbi as “one of the most peaceful and stable states in the federation”? Will they now walk back their words or continue hiding behind the crumbling façade of peace?
The Questions That Demand Answers
It’s time for the Kebbi State Government to answer difficult, unavoidable questions:
- Where were the intelligence reports that should have warned of an imminent abduction in a high-profile figure’s hometown?
- How much money has been spent on “security interventions” in the last two years — and where are the results?
- Why do bandits operate freely in rural Kebbi despite numerous “joint task forces”?
- Who is benefiting from this cycle of denial and insecurity?
- And most importantly, why should citizens continue to trust a government that keeps insisting everything is fine when clearly it isn’t?
From Denial To Disgrace
The abduction of Samaila Bagudo is not just a kidnapping; it is a symbol of a state security collapse dressed in official deception. It exposes a painful truth: Kebbi’s leaders were not blindsided — they simply refused to see.
For years, opposition figures and civil society groups have cried out about unreported killings in Zuru, Sakaba, and Danko-Wasagu. They were dismissed as “agents of opposition.” Now, the truth has come home to roost — right inside the State Assembly.
The government can no longer gaslight its citizens with empty assurances. No amount of press conferences, “fact-finding committees,” or hastily organized prayer sessions can erase the reality that Kebbi is under siege.
The Road Ahead
It is time for a complete overhaul of Kebbi’s security architecture — not in words, but in deeds. The state must stop weaponizing denial and start facing facts. Security is not maintained by propaganda; it is earned through vigilance, intelligence, and honesty.
Until then, Kebbi remains a state at war with itself — a state where denial has replaced duty, and silence has become the loudest sound.
As citizens, we must keep asking:
Who speaks for the voiceless when even the powerful have been silenced by bullets and bandits?
And when the truth finally demands to be heard, will the government still call it fake news?