Killings: FG Slams Yari, ‘With All The Soldiers In The World, Gov Can’t Tackle The Problem’

The Federal Goverment has accused Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, of poor governance.

Speaking at the opening of the 67th International Press Institute Congress on Thursday, Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazzau, reprimanded the governor for abandoning his responsibility as the chief security officer of his state.

The event, which took place at the Presidential Villa, was hosted by the president of the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria and chief executive officer of Channels TV, John Momoh.

Last Friday, Yari said he had dropped his responsibility as CSO of his state as he had no control over security machinery in Zamfara.

Speaking to newsmen in Talata-Mafara, the governor said his decision stemmed from the seeming helplessness of the state government and the people over recurring killings in the state.

He deplored the prevailing situation where as the chief security officer of the state, he could not take decisions on strategies for protecting the state and its people, and had it implemented.

But reacting yesterday, the minister said good governance was the solution to the killings in Zamfara State, adding that even if Yari was given all the soldiers in the world, he still could not tackle the problem.

“Good governance is the final solution to the security challenges in Zamfara, it is not the number of soldiers,” Dambazzau said.

“It is not good governance for the governor of Zamfara to say he is withdrawing as chief security officer. Even if he is given all the soldiers in the world, he can’t use those forces to deal with those issues.”

The minister said the federal government would carry out biometrics registration of all regular migrants who had overstayed in Nigeria to monitor their movement.

He said the Nigeria Immigration Service would take charge of the database of all Nigerians including green cards holders.

“The Ministry of Interior has established a situation room that is connected to the border posts that will enable effective monitoring of what is happening at our borders. I will also be able to see what is happening from that situation room,” he said.

On his part, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said more lives were lost to cattle rustling in Zamfara State than to the clashes between herdsmen and farmers in Benue State.