ALI KWARA: Inside the world of a thief catcher

Weekly Trust: We heard that your men are currently working in Zamfara and Sokoto states, how successful is the visit? Ali Kwara: Well, we set out together with security operatives after hearing that some bad eggs among the police were supplying armed robbers with weapons, and we were able to apprehend them. How were you […]

Weekly Trust: We heard that your men are currently working in Zamfara and Sokoto states, how successful is the visit?

Ali Kwara: Well, we set out together with security operatives after hearing that some bad eggs among the police were supplying armed robbers with weapons, and we were able to apprehend them.

How were you able to apprehend them particularly here in Zamfara?

Like everyone knows, we have been working together with the authorities for a very long time now. And we have been going about it discreetly. We received information on someone possessing weapons, and the person is a retired soldier who hails from Gusau. As I am talking to you, he has been arrested, and he called those who have been supplying him with weapons; they have also been arrested.

How many guns and bullets did you recover from them?

We recovered about 3,000 ammunitions from the old soldier who has been collecting them from security operatives and pass them on to the Fulani and others. Some were arrested after selling the arms in their possession. There are some who are selling weapons in the Niger Delta, while some are selling in Plateau State. The arrested man confessed to selling weapons to both Christians and Muslims in Plateau State.

How many security operatives have you arrested in Zamfara State for  gunrunning?

We arrested eight in Zamfara State, and four in neighbouring Sokoto State. Some have turned the thing into a trade.

The security operatives arrested, are they soldiers or policemen?

All the security agents are involved. Even now, a policeman stationed on special duty in the Niger Delta has been arrested based on our recommendation.

What is the truth about the allegations that a security operative was arrested for selling weapons to a lawmaker?

It is true that a policeman serving as orderly to the lawmaker was arrested, because he was the one who took delivery of the arms. The reason why I will not mention the lawmaker is because he is among those making laws for the country. But the lawmaker was apparently deceived. He gave them money to pay for a licence and get him a gun from the Inspector General of Police. And according to policemen account, the said gun was actually bought from Lagos.

They are also alleging that you arrested the driver of one commissioner trying to supply arms to a bush in Dansadau

The driver in question was not arrested now, it was a very old incident because it happened during the past administration. That time they mentioned his name, but we don’t have any evidence to link him to it now until he is arrested.

Last month, some armed robbers attacked the villages of Dansadau and Dangulbi in Maru local government area of Zamfara State. Have you been able to arrest any of the armed robbers?

It is as a result of this work that we got those selling weapons to bandits. Most of the armed robbers came from Katsina and Kaduna States after they were dispersed. Most of them are nomads and we are working to apprehend them.

They said you recently stormed a market here and recovered some weapons. What is the truth?

It is true, but I am not the one who entered the market. I was able to identify them from my village with the help of the Almighty. So I asked security operatives in Zamfara State to go to the market and they arrested them. They also recovered so many weapons from the raid. So you see the visit was very successful.

What support are you enjoying from the authorities?

I have the support of the authorities. It is with their consent that I have been doing what I am doing, so, I don’t have any problem with them.

How many robbers did you arrest and how many ammunition did you recover from them?

Well, the number of those arrested is not our priority now. Our main concern is those supplying them with the weapons. Like I said, they have taken arms from Zamfara State and supplied to Katsina, Niger Republic, Niger Delta, Jos and the rest

What about the gunrunner you caught?

He is in the custody of police, we will take him to Abuja.

There were those you arrested last year who had not been prosecuted as expected, what do you have to say on that?

The authorities are not to blame for that. The bad eggs are working from within. Their leader is a DSP. We have arrested him with over 1,000 ammunitions which he was giving to some herdsmen. That was at the place of an old man that he has been using as intermediary. We have spoken with them and the soldier. They sold weapons to an Immigration officer and Prison warder. That was where they were caught and seven of them were involved. And there is a son of a former Minister from Anambra and his father pleaded to have his son released, according to what a former IG of Police told me. Because of that they got four people and arraigned them in court. But the court said since they are seven, they cannot try only four and leave the other three behind. So they asked the people of Anambra to produce the three others to be prosecuted, but they refused. They collected N250,000 from them, but those who didn’t have the money, including a junior police officer, were returned to Sokoto and dismissed. The other was transferred to Abuja and suspended. But the others, because of the former minister, were spared.

What do you think is the solution to all these robbery and insecurity incidents?

The solution is just to respect the law. Whoever is caught and found guilty must be prosecuted no matter how highly placed he is. If the authorities discriminate and spare some because they are rich and powerful, we won’t make any progress. This is not justice. The law should be blind to status.

But are you satisfied with the way the authorities are handling those you have been arresting?

I am not satisfied. The law in Nigeria is selectively applied and this is what is killing the country. Not only armed robbers, if the law is applied as it should be, even journalists will watch their steps.

What form of support are you receiving from Sokoto and Zamfara states?

Honestly I enjoyed the support of the police commissioners of the two states. That has eased my work to a large extent and very soon we will contain these hoodlums, even though some are proving stubborn in the beginning.

What role have the governors been playing?

If other governors can show the same level of commitment as those of Zamfara and Sokoto are doing, we will soon end the activities of armed robbers.

But you have also worked in other states like Adamawa?

That is true. I was invited to Yola by the Nyako administration, and with his support, I was able to achieve my mission. So in essence, if there is the political will, so much can be done.

People seem to be amazed by the way you operate, what do you have to say on that?

Well, the fact is I am not into witchcraft or black magic. Ever since I was created by God, right from my childhood days, my pastime has been hunting, and that is what I enjoy doing to this day. There is hardly any animal big or small that I didn’t hunt in my life. So, it is the Almighty Allah that has been protecting me, showing me the way to know the routine of armed robbers. I also make very good use of my hunting skills which I developed in the course of hunting animals in the bush, from Bauchi, Yobe, Gombe to Borno and the Chad border region.

Will you want your kids to take after you?

I can’t really say for now, because only time shall tell. Nobody knows his destiny. Many famous personalities were not inherited by their sons and daughters. So that is not for me to decide.

What do you fear about your work?

I don’t fear anything, because no one can hurt me without Allah’s permission. I know I will die one day and no one can extend or reduce my days. As a Muslim also, we must always consider death all the time. I used to say I wanted to die at someone’s hand, to put my burden on them for the hereafter. But now, I think I have a family, I prefer to die at home with them around me. In any case I’m ready.

What’s your greatest wish?

To die a good Muslim