Category: Northern Report

The Arewa Coalition for Peace, Reform and Good Governance (ACPRGG) has commended Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, for what it described as deliberate, courageous and reform-driven efforts to address the state’s deep-rooted security challenges, arguing that the current administration inherited a collapsed security architecture from years of failed leadership.

In a statement issued on Friday in Kaduna, the group’s president, Alhaji Sadiq Mahmoud, said Governor Lawal deserved support rather than criticism for confronting an insecurity crisis that had been allowed to fester under previous administrations, particularly during the tenure of former governor Abdul’aziz Yari.

Mahmoud said recent incidents, including the suspected bomb explosion along the Yar’Tasha–Dansadau road in Maru Local Government Area, should be viewed within the broader context of long-standing governance failures that predated the Lawal administration.

He stressed that the current governor was not responsible for creating Zamfara’s insecurity, describing the situation as the result of years of negligence, poor policy decisions and short-sighted strategies that empowered armed groups, weakened state institutions and normalised violence.

The group dismissed calls for Governor Lawal to revert to security strategies deployed during Yari’s administration, describing those approaches as ineffective and largely responsible for the spread and entrenchment of armed groups across the state’s forests and rural communities.

Mahmoud said the so-called strategies of the past neither defeated banditry nor protected communities, noting that armed groups expanded, weapons proliferated and residents were left vulnerable to criminal elements. 

He added that Zamfara’s security crisis did not emerge overnight and did not originate under the current administration.

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According to the ACPRGG, Governor Lawal has adopted a more structured and sustainable approach, with an emphasis on intelligence-led operations, collaboration with federal security agencies and rebuilding trust between communities and the state.

The group noted that the governor has maintained consistent engagement with security chiefs and traditional rulers, while prioritising reforms aimed at addressing the economic and social drivers of violence.

Mahmoud also defended the governor against criticism over his movements outside the state, arguing that effective security leadership goes beyond physical presence and includes high-level coordination with federal authorities and security institutions.

He said security governance was about strategy, coordination and long-term planning, adding that Governor Lawal had demonstrated a clear understanding of these principles while working to reverse years of systemic damage.

The group urged residents to remain patient and vigilant, stressing that resolving a decade-long security crisis would require time, consistency and collective support. It also cautioned against politicising insecurity or promoting narratives that absolve past leaders of responsibility.

Mahmoud said meaningful progress would be impossible without an honest assessment of past failures, insisting that the insecurity confronting Zamfara today was the outcome of ineffective leadership under previous administrations.

As investigations continue into the Maru road explosion, the group called for unity, cooperation with security agencies and sustained support for Governor Lawal’s efforts, maintaining that lasting peace can only be achieved through accountable governance and credible reform.