There Are Over 10,000 Bandits In Zamfara – Governor Abdulaziz Yari

Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State said on Thursday that there are no fewer than ten thousand armed bandits operating in the state.

Addressing participants at a two-day Federal and States Security Administrators (FSSAM) meeting in Gusau, the state capital, the governor explained that the situation had become so worrisome that it needed a holistic approach.

The governor spoke through the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Professor Abdulahi Shinkafi.

According to him, the armed bandits had killed over 4,000 innocent souls, injuring over 9,000 people, while thousands of houses and farmlands had been destroyed in the state.

However, he blamed the ugly situation on lack of sufficient security operatives, saying that there were only twenty-five police outposts in the state even when the state had over 250 communities and villages.

Governor Yari said the armed bandits and gunmen always targeted the rural areas because there were no security operatives in most of the rural areas of the state.

He pointed out that it was when the situation became unbearable that the Federal Government deployed about 4,000 soldiers to the state.

Yari, who is the Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), noted that before the situation became very bad, there were only 300 foot soldiers in the state, wondering how the insufficient security operatives could confront armed bandits and notorious kidnappers who, he said, were operating with sophisticated weapons that were more powerful than the ones being used by the security agencies.

According to him, the state government had committed over N10 billion to accommodate the security agencies in the state, despite its lean resources.

However, the governor said there were some fundamental questions needed to be asked, stressing that one of such questions remained whether the armed bandits and kidnappers were operating on their own or were being sponsored by highly placed individuals to commit atrocities.

“We are really in a serious mess as the whole situation continues to escalate, with no end in sight,” he lamented.

Governor Yari explained that the armed bandits had left eight thousand women as widows while sixteen thousand were recorded officially to be orphans due to the armed banditry in the state.

He maintained that the state and Federal Government had committed a lot of resources to fighting the scourge, but that the situation had continued to prove intractable.

Imprisoned Dariye Joins Senators To Co-Sponsor Motion

Meanwhile, imprisoned Senator Joshua Dariye on Wednesday joined 108 other senators to sponsor a motion against abduction and armed banditry in the country.

The motion was moved by Shehu Sani (Kaduna Central).

Dariye was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment by a High Court in Abuja for corruption.

Following the motion, the upper chamber summoned the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, to brief it on what he was doing about the kidnapping and banditry going on in the country.

The Senate urged telecommunication companies to provide security agencies with information in areas where there were kidnappings.

The lawmakers also called on government to set up inter-agency task force to tackle cases of banditry and kidnappings in states like Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, and Niger.

The resolutions of the Senate followed the motion titled, ‘Senseless Killing of a Briton and the Abduction of Three Others in a Holiday Resort in Kaduna State by Armed Bandits’.

The Senate, which observed one minute silence in honour of the dead, urged the security agencies to immediately deploy the use of drones and interceptors in tracking kidnappers asking for ransom, to intensify the search for the perpetrators, and to bring them to book.

Senator Sani condemned the killing of the 29-year-old Briton, Faye Mooney, and another Nigerian, and the abduction of three others on Friday, April 19, 2019 while leading debate on the motion.

He noted that there were no formidable and technological approaches to fighting the wave of armed banditry and kidnappings in most parts of the country.

He said: “In recent times, the attacks on individuals, houses, and villages have become one too many and there is no single person that has been brought to book as a result of the wanton killings and the so much emphasised efforts at combating the crime is not yielding fruits.

“The unfortunate event of 19th April, 2019 where gunmen raided a resort called Kajuru Resort in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, a Briton, Ms. Faye Mooney, and a Nigerian, Mr. Mathew Oguche, were killed and three others abducted, has put more fears into Nigerians.

“The recurrence of this banditry where foreigners and tourists are involved may put Nigeria’s diplomatic relationship on the line thereby raising a red flag to other tourists who may wish to visit Nigeria.

“The Northern part of Nigeria has become a theatre of killings and kidnappings, especially states like Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, Kaduna and Niger. Kajuru, in Kaduna State, is notorious for killings and kidnappings.”

The lawmaker, who expressed concern at the spate of killings and kidnappings that had found base in Zamfara and Niger states, noted that the perpetrators of these heinous activities tend to be gaining more courage to perpetuate their dastardly acts without fear of confrontation due to their acclaimed superior firepower.

Contributing, the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, noted that kidnapping was increasing the cost of contracts in the country as foreign companies were now using that as pretext to increase the costs of contracts.

Lamenting that the nation was being profiled as an unsafe country, Ekweremadu added that food security and tourism were being threatened as a result of kidnappings and banditry.

Noting that a colony of kidnappers existed between Kaduna and Abuja, the lawmaker called on the government to declare emergency on insecurity.

Joshua Lidani (Gombe South) lamented that the implication of insecurity in the country went beyond this country as other nations were already warning their citizens to beware of Nigeria.

“Nigeria is now a killing field. Security situation in the country has degenerated. It discourages investors from coming.

“We should do something drastic, something unusual. We should mobilise the entire security force for one week into these areas and see what will happen.

“If we keep sending police, nothing will be done. We can call for assistance. We should do something out of the box,” he said.

Reacting, the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, who presided over the plenary, said government needed to be frontal in addressing the embarrassing development.

He added that in the past one year, the police had refused to communicate with the lawmakers on the way forward as the former Inspector General of Police refused to honour their invitation.

Supporting the motion, Emmanuel Bwacha (Taraba South), lamented that there were reports that security operatives were conniving with the kidnappers to carry out atrocities.

Supporting the call for state police to address insecurity in the country, the lawmaker advocated massive deployment of security to smoke out the kidnappers from their hiding places.

“If we can have massive deployment of security, these kidnappers will be smoked out. Like the massive deployment of security during the elections.

“If we can deploy numbers of security like that, we will address this issue. Capital punishment should not be ruled out.

“We should intensify intelligence gathering. Nigerians are not safe; people no longer go to farms.

“The implications of this will not be good in the long run. In time to come, we will wake up to find there is no food even with your money,” he said.

Kabir Marafa (Zamfara Central) said the North was at war, adding, “Let nobody deceive you, there is war in the North. In the next two, three years this situation will be out of place.

“Those who think we are secured in Abuja should be careful. In the next three years there might not be anybody in Zamfara State. Nobody sleeps again in the state. Children of 11 years now carry AK47.

“There are more than 4000 kidnapped victims in the hands of the kidnappers. The thing is not reducing; it has long become a business.

“No business in the North now. Nobody can go to farm, especially in Kaduna, unless you go with security. A day will come when you will come, you will have money but can’t get food to buy.”

He, however, said people should be bold to speak out as such would help to address the issue.

In his contribution, Senator Andrew Uchendu (Rivers East) pointed out that when he drew the attention of lawmakers to this development in Rivers State few years ago, they said it was not a serious matter, adding that the issue of kidnapping was everywhere now.

Uchendu, who noted that the lifestyle of lawmakers was fuelling insecurity in the country, said that unless the youths were properly engaged, the issue would not stop.

“Until our youths are engaged, we will continue to have this. Our lifestyle laid the foundation for this.

“If we engage these youths, the issue of insecurity can be addressed. Until these idle hands are engaged, we will continue to have this,” he said.

source:Independent