Mysterious helicopter raises security concerns in Bauchi

Lame Burra is one of the largest forests in the northeastern part of Nigeria. It stretches from Toro Local Government Area to Ningi and part of Ganjuwa, all in Bauchi State. The forest covers 205,900 hectares of land and shares boundaries with Kano, Kaduna, Yobe, Plateau and Jigawa states. During the First Republic, the forest […]

Lame Burra is one of the largest forests in the northeastern part of Nigeria. It stretches from Toro Local Government Area to Ningi and part of Ganjuwa, all in Bauchi State. The forest covers 205,900 hectares of land and shares boundaries with Kano, Kaduna, Yobe, Plateau and Jigawa states.

During the First Republic, the forest was called Lame Burra Game Reserve because of the wild animals that settled there, but with the increasing population of human activities, they gradually left the area.

Today, it houses many people from different parts of the country. Investigation by our correspondent revealed that many of them settled in the forest as farmers while looking for an arable land, while many got there as miners.

Unfortunately, the forest has become a flashpoint for security operatives because of criminal activities, such as banditry, kidnapping and cattle rustling.

The biggest issue that raised a security concern was on January 8, 2022 when many locals claimed that they saw a mysterious helicopter flying over the forest and later landed at Ganjuwa Local Government Area.

The village head of Tama, Alhaji Adamu Yakubu, who is one of the traditional rulers of the villages surrounding the area said, “On  January 8, 2022, about 9;45am, I heard the sound of a helicopter hovering over the forest. I can still remember the date. I thought it was a military helicopter, but later, when I came out, I heard that many people saw the helicopter. Some hunters told us that it later landed at a border between Lame and Kafin Madaki.”

The district head of Lame, Sarkin Yakin Bauchi, Alhaji Aliyu Yakubu Lame, in his account of the incident said, “I heard about the incident in the palace of the Emir of Bauchi when I met Madakin Bauchi. He explained to the Emirate Council that a local informed him that a helicopter landed in their area and later took off

“During investigation, some locals said they sighted the helicopter drop two motorcycles, and two Hilux vans came and picked them and other items to an unknown destination inside the forest. The situation put fear and uncertainty in the minds of various communities. We reported the matter to the Emirate Council, which also reported to the state government for necessary action.

Security issues in the area

The traditional rulers overseeing communities in the area alleged that the forest became one of hideouts for criminals as a result of the presence of strangers. They called on the relevant authorities to address the situation before it consumes the whole state.

The village head of Tama, Adamu, said security concerns in the area started over 20 years ago, adding that initially, there were five settlements in the forest – Gurku, Zomo, Da Gamawa da, Tarkunya da, Makwayo. 

He also said that because of increase in their population, they needed additional lands for farming; hence forestry officers allocated an additional land to them. But since then, people from other parts of the country come to the forest to farm. According to him, some came with permission while others force their way in because there are so many routes to the forest, including Zainari, Maganda from Kano State, as well as Burra sites and other places. 

“Since then, we started monitoring people’s movements.  Whenever we hear that strangers came to the forest we send policemen and vigilantes to send them away.

“Sometimes we used to settle disagreements and conflicts among them. Usually, they fight over farmlands. Later on, around 2015, there was an increase in crime and criminality in our area, so we held a meeting at Toro Local Government secretariat.  They were given two weeks to vacate the place, but they came back and begged. They formed a union for peace. Following that action, peace returned to the forest until these days when we have been having complaints of insecurity, although it used to occur along Magama, Tilde and other areas,” he said..

Adamu said that as a result of the series of complaints, some traditional rulers were stripped of their tittles because they accommodated strangers, who even had a Jummaat mosque at Gobirawa, inside the forest.

The district head of Lame, Alhaji Aliyu, attributed the influx of strangers from the North-West, North-Central and other parts of the country to the area to military activities in neighbouring states. He said the presence of strangers increased the spate of kidnapping and other forms of insecurity in Toro and other local government areas bordering the Lame-Burra area. 

He said, “The major problem has to do with lack of will power to punish people that were found guilty of collecting something and accommodating strangers from other parts of the country.  For example, recently, the Emir of Bauchi suspended three hamlet heads, but the action ended in suspension, without prosecution. These ugly incidents occur in our domain and we feel the pain and the pains of our people.”

He lamented that presently, the strangers have establish over 60 settlements inside the forest, including a Jummaat mosque and markets. 

He further revealed that inside the forest, there are mighty caves where over 300 people can sleep comfortably. 

He stressed the need for both the federal and state governments to screen the inhabitants of the forest to know where they came from and their mission.

The chairman of Ningi Local Government, Mamuda Hassan Tabla, said the presence of strangers in the forest was worrisome, noting that communities in the area had lost over N70million to bandits. He alleged that kidnappers usually ask families of their victims to take various ransoms to Zamfara or any other part of the country.

Analysing the situation, Air Commodore Tijjani Baba Gamawa (retd), said it was very disturbing to see an unknown helicopter in the forest; hence the air force should carry out investigation to know where it came from and its mission. He recalled that such incident was alleged to have happened in Borno, Yobe, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara, adding that it is a threat to national security.

Recently, the Bauchi State governor, Senator Bala Muhammad Abdulkadir, raised the alarm over a mysterious helicopter flying over forests in the state when he received the newly posted Air Officer Commanding the Nigerian Air Force Special Operations in Bauchi, Air Vice Marshal Tajudeen Yusuf at the Government House.

He said intelligent security details available to him from the local areas indicated that a helicopter used to fly over the forest, a development that raised concern about the safety of the people living around the forest.

The governor said the forests had become an incubation centre for criminals, and urged the Nigeria Air Force officers to intensify surveillance to forestall a breach in public safety, especially in communities surrounding the large forest reserve and the entire state.

 “We have paid attention to the issue of security in Bauchi because it is key. Toro Local Government Area is the most disturbed, not because of its geographical location or because the people are criminals or harbouring criminals, but because of the movement of criminals from the North-West, North-Central and even North-East.

“Of course, we have people coming to settle in Lame forest. I am calling on local councils and traditional rulers to open their eyes. We are not unwelcoming people, but we don’t welcome criminals into our state.

“We don’t have to sell the forest. The Lame-Burra forest is one of the largest in Nigeria, but it is almost destroyed. Certainly, as a government, we are taking very stringent measures to make sure that this thing does not continue,” the governor said. 

On his part, Air Vice Marshal Yusuf said the Nigeria Air Force was aware of the situation and investigations were ongoing, with a view to intercepting the suspected helicopter, as well as seek more information from the public that would help them in their effort to improve the security situation in the area.

The commissioner of police in the state, Umar Mamman Sanda, declined comment on the issue of the mysterious helicopter when he paraded suspected criminals in Bauchi.

The major questions many people ask are: Who owns the helicopter? What was its mission in the forest? What are they going to do with the motorcycles they dropped? Who brought the Hilux and took the motorcycle? Only security investigations cam reveal that. 

Many locals who spoke to Daily Trust on Sunday said the problem was that abundant natural resources in the forest as some people come for mining activities. They also said it was difficult to travel deep inside the forest because the area is not motorable.” 

Efforts to speak to the Nigeria Air Force, Bauchi State command and other security agencies failed as its public relations officer referred our correspondent to their headquarters in Abuja, claiming that “the issue of largest forests is about national security.”

Also, the special adviser to Governor Mohammed on security, Brigadier-General Markus Yake (retd), failed to speak on the issue. However, a security source who spoke on the condition of anonymity said, “For more than three decades we recorded infiltration of miscreants into the forest from other parts of the country. Whenever they came we used to chase them out. 

“There is a joint security task force in  over 14 flashpoints that ensure there is no breakdown of law and order in any part of the state, not only in the forests. 

“On the issue of helicopter, since the Nigeria Air Force pledged to investigate it, I think people should be patient and allow them to do their investigations.  Sometimes investigations take time. But I can assure you that we have eyes and ears in the forests, and we are working hard to make sure there is no security breach. The area is peaceful. There is no cause for alarm.” 

A senior government official also said, “The Bauchi State governor is not sleeping over the issues affecting all the forests in the state.  He is also working with the security agencies to protect not only the forests but the entire state.”