Insecurity: We Won’t Allow Banditry/Kidnapping Grow Into Another B’Haram- Masari

…Meets With Buhari In Aso Rock

Katsina State Governor, Mr Aminu Masari, said on Wednesday that government would ensure that ongoing killings by bandits and kidnappers in the North-West and the North-Central did not grow into another Boko Haram insurgency.

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The governor spoke with State House Correspondents in Abuja shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari held a meeting with at the State House.

THE WHISTLER recalls that the Federal Government had launched several security operations, including aerial bombings by the Nigerian Air Force, to combat banditry and kidnapping in the two zones, amid the rising killings.

At the moment, special forces are on ground in Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, Niger, Kaduna and Kogi, among other states, to tackle the criminal elements.

However, their presence has not deterred the bandits and kidnappers, who daily invade villages, maiming and killing defenceless citizens.

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In June alone, attacks by bandits claimed more than 57 lives in Katsina state alone.

In some of the incidents, gunmen riding on motorbikes, openly set fire on markets, shops and residential buildings after killing the owners.

In a bid to repel the attacks, up to 16 soldiers reportedly lost their lives in July, after falling into an ambush by the bandits.

More than 27 others were said to have been wounded in the exchange of gunfire between them and the bandits.

But, on Wednesday, Masasri insisted that government would not be discouraged, as it would continue to introduce counter measures to secure the lives and property of the people.

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For instance, he said one immediate goals was to ensure that the farming season was not disrupted by the by the attacks.

Masari spoke more, “Currently, the military are in Katsina for their annual super camp. So, over 2,000 of them are gathered in Katsina in order to really send a signal to the bandits that the military is ready and willing and they have the capacity to deal with the situation.

“The hope is that the military, including the police and other security agencies, have been given a marching order by the President to control the situation by all means and it is a task that must be done because we cannot allow the situation in the North-West to develop to a worrisome stage like it is in the North-East.”

On the fate of villagers who had been displaced already, the governor claimed that the government was taking very good care of them.

He added that, but for the heavy rains, which made the fight against the bandits a bit difficult, they would have been routed by the military by now.

He added, “You know, the North-Western and North-Central parts of the country where these bandits are is a vast forest area and unfriendly terrain. Especially now, during the rainy season, moving with heavy military equipment can be a very big challenge because the soil is soft and the rains are heavy, but it is doable.

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“No situation is impossible, especially to a willing and determined mind; so I do believe that we can conquer these bandits and stop them from hibernating into something else.”

He told reporters that his administration would begin to implement more measures to safeguard the communities as soon as the military completely secured all the locations often targeted by the bandits.

Masari spoke further, “First of all, in the aspect of non-kinetic measures, what we are waiting for is for the military to take total control of the land areas, then the state and local governments will now move in; especially in the area of education, access and water supply; then their means of livelihood, which is mainly agriculture and livestock.

“For us in Katsina, we have concluded all our designs but we cannot safely get access to where we can make reservations. In terms of earth dams, we have already earmarked 30 areas in which we are going to reconstruct all the earth dams that are broken down and construct some that are new in order to provide watering points. Again, we are reintroducing grazing points but as it is today, we cannot access the land. 

“We have partners that are willing to join hands with us but we have to get the land back in peace because nobody will go and invest where security is not very tight. But with the current military operation going on, I am sure before the end of this rainy season, we will have a very conducive atmosphere and free area that people can go back to their normal life.”

In 2019, the Masari administration, in an effort to arrest the attacks, entered into an peace deal with some bandits.

Those who claimed to have repented, were granted amnesty and pardoned by the government after they surrendered their weapons and also received some relief packages.

Some neighbouring North-West states also adopted the strategy in the hope that it would end banditry and kidnapping.

However, the the deal didn’t last more than a few months before the criminals returned with even more hunger to kill, maim and set properties ablaze.

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