The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Zamfara State

  • Zamfara as metaphor

    After last week’s air raid of Zamfara forests by the Nigerian Air Force to decapitate the armed bandits that have held the state hostage, the story is thatthe criminals are back in the villages, strolling around without molestation. While that may not be true, no doubtthe state has been on the boil, such that the so-called illegal mining in the state which has been fingered as a cause of the crisis has been banned. Also the federal authority has accused the traditional authority in the state of complicity in the crisis.

    The situation is so precarious that the state governor,AbdulazizYari, has visited the presidential villa on several occasionsto lament the insecurity in the state. His opponents however accuse him of always junketing; perhaps because his state is insecure, he feels safer to always stay outside the state. The senate and House of Representatives have also been lamenting and have been making resolutions to compel the executive to act.

    But despite all the effort, Zamfara remains unsafe. Similar attacks by bandits have also hit Sokoto, Kebbi and Kastina states, even as Kaduna State appears permanently on the boil. On the other side of the northern divide, Borno, Yobe, Gombe and Adamawa are under the direct attack range of Boko Haram. Further down, Taraba, Benue, Kogi, Niger, Nassarawa and Plateau are not spared from armed attacks. So, the scary scenario is that presently more than half of Nigeria is under attack.

    Of note, the concerned states are amongst the poorest in the country. When Nigeria is regarded as the poverty capital of the world, these states, save for a few of them, represent the hardest hit by all the indices with which poverty is measured. By one of such indices, provided by World Poverty Clock, 86.9 million Nigerians live in extreme poverty as at 2018. Without doubt majority of these extremely poor Nigerians come from these states.

    So, if about half of Nigerians are extremely poor, and the country is waging a warin more than half of its territory, the poverty level will get worse and more people will get poorer.Such a scary scenario as we are in calls for a national emergency beyond mere political grandstanding and the federal government must do more than authorizing jet fighters to bomb the forests of Zamfara.

    While it should wage war against the enemies of our country, the solution to the extreme poverty prevalent in the north requires more than what jet fighters can do. The fundamental challenge facing the region and indeed the entire country is poverty, and the solution lies in rejigging the economy. From the crisis facing Zamfara, Nigerians have become aware that the state is awash with mineral deposits, such that illegal miners have turned the blessing to a curse. So, the solution may actually be the legitimate exploitation of the minerals.

    Instead of wringing their hands in helplessness as the northern elites are doing presently, they should wakeup and demand for economic restructuring of the country. In their recent intervention over the insecurity in the northern part of our country, the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) led by Professor AngoAbdullahi, merely recanted the challenges facing the region without offering any solution. They spoke tongue in cheek when they said: “we demand for decisive, comprehensive and fundamental governmental action against poverty, underdevelopment and insecurity.”

    If the NEFand other elite groups in the region want to squarely deal with the challenge of poverty facing the region, they must champion the call for economic restructuring of the country. They should know that as structurally organised, the country cannot make the quantum progress that the region needs more than any other part of the country to begin the process of getting out of poverty and insecurity. Blame game will not do it, unless the idea is merely to grandstand.

    The first decisive step is to give Zamfara State the constitutional authority to mine its minerals, and thereby eliminate the illegal miners. The challenges facing Zamfara has shown that our country can no longer defer the urgent need to put states in the driver’s seat of what ordinarily should be their local economy. Clearly as Zamfara has shown, the lack of state economies have mutated beyond mere economic problem to security challenge, and it will be insanity for our country not to change the paradigm, while hoping for a change.

    Therefore, the northern elites must join those who have rejected the constitutional provision that the federal government should own exclusive rights to the mining of minerals in the country. The absence of a thriving and lawful local economy in the states, especially in the northern part of the country have become an existential problem. The precarious situation in many states across the country, is made worse by the dwindling revenue from the oil resources of the Niger Delta, and any further delay has become extremely dangerous.

    The second step is to constitutionally authorize states to have state police. A state like Zamfara may not bother much about recruiting police to patrol its cities, but will be interested in armed rangers to patrol its vast forests. Under the strange federal constitution we presently operate, it can only operate armed vigilantes at the mercy of federal authority. Without its own local police, the state will have to rely on policemen and women, most of whom may be posted to the state as a form of punishment.

    Unless the security challenges are quickly dealt with, Zamfara State and her sister states will continue to get poorer, and as their condition get worse, the nation itself gets poorer. The federal government in the past few years have relied on borrowed funds to argument its budget deficits. Such economic practice is clearly unsustainable, and one way to solve the problem is to expand the national economy. The federal government can easily do that by shedding the exclusive legislative list in favour of the states.

    Without being an economist, Nigeriacannot sustain the present scenario of borrowing to fighta war against Boko Haram and other armed insurgencies; not to talk of investing in infrastructure to boost the national economy. Without bridging the over one trillion dollar gap in infrastructure deficit, our country can easily slip back into recession anytime. The northern elites must worry about the financial capacity of the country to continue to wage the war against Boko Haram and other armed insurgents, which is exacerbating, because of poverty.

    President Buhari can justify his concern for the economic and security crisis facing the country, by preparing the necessary executive bills to amend the exclusive legislative list and also section 214 of the 1999 constitution which forbids the establishment of state police, for the incoming 9th national assembly. That is what we need, not rhetoric.

  • Yari hails military operations

    ZAMFARA State Governor and Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum Abdul’aziz Yari Abubakar has hailed the ongoing operation by the Army and other security agencies against bandits and criminals.

    The governor expressed his delight when the Force Commander of the Operation Sharan Daji Major General Hakeem Oladapo Okiti visited the Government House, Gusau, at the weekend.

    Yari said reports from the areas, where the deadly acts of the bandits had been intense, indicated that the efforts by the combined military operations are yielding positive results.

    The governor told the commander the extent at which the people of Zamfara State suffered from the killings of innocent lives and destruction of property by bandits. He added that the situation has halted commercial activities in many areas.

    The governor explained that the state in 2015 had not experienced kidnapping, but cattle rustling and reprisal attacks until thereafter when the menace became the order of the day.

    He, therefore, called on the Army and other security agencies to put an end to banditry by sustaining the ongoing operations.

    Maj.-Gen. Hakeem Okiti briefed the governor on the operation being carried out in diverse locations. He thanked the governor on the support the Army is enjoying while carrying out their duties.

  • Banditry: Yari satisfied with military operations

    Zamfara State Governor and Chairman Nigeria Governors’ Forum Abdul’aziz Yari Abubakar has appreciated the ongoing operation by the Army and other security agencies against bandits and criminals in the state.

    The governor expressed delight and commended the military during a courtesy call visit by the Force Commander of the Operation Sharan Daji Major General Hakeem Oladapo Okiti at the Government House Gusau weekend.

    Yari said reports from the areas where the deadly acts of the bandits had been intense indicated efforts by the combined military operations in flushing out the criminals were yielding positive results.

    He told the Commander the extent at which residents of Zamfara suffered from the killings of innocent lives and destruction of property by bandits, which halted commercial activities in many areas thereby rendering many people miserable.

    The governor explained as at 2015, the state had not experienced kidnapping but cattle rustling and reprisal attacks until the menace became the order of the day.

    Read Also: Yari commends FG, calls for media support

    He therefore called on the Nigerian Army and other security agencies to step up efforts to put to an end to banditry in the state by sustaining the ongoing operations.

    The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum also promised to do everything possible in assisting the security operatives in the ongoing military actions in the state.

    Okiti briefed the Governor on the Operation Sharan Daji by the Nigerian Army in diverse locations of the bandits in the state.

    He thanked the Governor for the support the Army enjoys while carrying out their duties aimed at restoring lasting peace in Zamfara State.

     

  • Zamfara tells Nigeria something far deeper

    ON Wednesday, during a town hall meeting in Zamfara State attended by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, Governor Abdulaziz Yari wailed that his state had been overtaken by criminality, with bandits operating from eight different camps. He estimated that some 3,526 people had been killed in the last five years, more than 500 villages despoiled, over 8, 200 people injured, and economic activities virtually paralysed. There was no local government in the state unaffected by the crisis, he added gravely.

    Early in January, Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State, told the state’s security meeting that his state was besieged by armed robbers, kidnappers, bandits and cattle rustlers. Not even he was safe, he groaned. Worse, according to him, no part of the state’s 34 local governments was spared. His cry of anguish followed hard on the heels of the alarm raised by the Borno State governor Kashim Shettima who also decried the distressingly high rate of insecurity in the north-eastern part of Nigeria. With 16 people killed in February alone due to bandit attacks in Dalijan, Rakkoni and Kalhu communities in the Rabah Local Government Area of Sokoto State, Governor Aminu Tambuwal also lamented that insecurity had become a nightmare. He confirmed that since July last year, some 81 people had been killed by bandits. In short, the Northwest is in turmoil.

    Governors of some northern states and researchers and experts suggest that bandits had made a huge expanse of the region completely unsafe, with thousands killed and roads rendered unsafe for commuting and economic activities. Widespread attacks said to be emanating from the Kuyanbana forest linking Kaduna, Katsina and Zamfara States are reported daily, leading to loss of lives, abandonment of land, and cessation or disruption of economic activities. Repeated interventions by security forces, sometimes in unison, and at other times, singly, have proved ineffective. The insecurity cancer had been long in developing as a result of elite irresponsibility and incompetence over the decades, and is now obviously metastasizing. But rather than propose a radical and targeted surgery, together with wide-ranging socio-economic mediation, the government at the state and federal levels have stuck to a futile and reactionary application of overwhelming force.

    However, the problem is growing in size and engulfing nearly all the states in the North. The South is, of course, not insulated. Cult wars, armed robbery, herdsmen attacks, banditry and kidnappings have combined to make the region unsafe for living and business, and have become unpredictable. Meanwhile, the blame game has continued unabated. The political elite blames the business elite, and the military elite blames the judicial elite. No one is accepting responsibility for anything. In fact, with the recent killings in Kaduna and Zamfara, and the feeling of helplessness and hopelessness the tragedies have triggered, Nigerians are becoming totally despondent. In panic, the presidency has ordered a ruthless law enforcement approach to the crisis, but has failed so far to ponder why that approach had proved desultory and ineffective in past years.

    The National Assembly is not inured to the customary knee-jerk approach often embraced by the country when gory events occur in rapid succession. For example, sufficiently provoked to do some public good early in the week, the Senate made fine parliamentary speeches and ended up setting aside some N10bn in the 2019 budget as security intervention in Zamfara State — that is if the allocation is cash-backed. But what of the other states afflicted by the same disease? Both the legislature and the executive showed by their responses that all they think about is the quick-fix option. The legislature thinks in terms of throwing money at problems, and the presidency, which is in control of the security services, thinks of applying more force, more ruthlessness, to stanch the flow of blood and the relentless drift towards anomie.

    But because these measures have been applied in past years with immeasurable severity, but have failed woefully to have any major or lasting impact on the situation in those beleaguered states, there is nothing to suggest that they will work, having worked in fits and starts every time security forces were mobilised or deployed. With a little exaggeration, it is safe to say that the country is sitting on a powder keg. In fact, a little more indolence on the part of the governing elite will see the country careen into the ravine. The widespread attacks in nearly all parts of the country and the superficial impact the deployment of the security services have had on the problem suggest that the political elite have missed all the signals indicating the kind of trouble the country is contending with. But their misdiagnosis is unfortunately accompanied by the failure of rationality and character. The government has stuck to the use of overwhelming counter-force; and the rest of the country seems willing to sermonise over the problem, believing it is an attitudinal problem. Neither will work.

    It is understood that there are tons of position papers on the crisis, with Zamfara State alone acknowledging it had inspired more than 7,000 pages of reports on the problem, including how to resolve it. The academic community have also provided deep insight into the crisis, and have made far-reaching suggestions on how to restore the region to the path of peace and development. So far, however, the federal government has not appeared to embrace anything more than the panacea of strong-arm, military approach. Some analysts have suggested that if the government’s approach is to work, it must be accompanied by wide-ranging measures to eradicate the camps of the bandits, while a whole panoply of socio-economic mediation must be instituted. But given the depth of the crisis and its longevity, it is doubtful whether these measures can have more than a short-term or placebo effect.

    The crisis of banditry, especially as exemplified by Zamfara State will, however, not be assuaged by ad hoc measures. Because the whole country is contending with one security crisis or the other, and the military and police are spread thin in nearly all parts of the country, it is time the government showed gumption in examining other issues directly related or tangential to the crisis. The existing diagnosis is faulty, and the prognosis is lacking in surefootedness. Financial intervention is undoubtedly welcome, but what has happened to the trillions of naira allocated by the federation and budgeted in the affected states by their state governments? Can they account for and justify their spending? Would fresh financial intervention not amount to throwing money at a problem that requires fresh thinking and new directions?

    If military and police interventions have proved only partially effective so far, and are in the long run ineffective; and money does not answer to a cancer that is fast metastasizing, then it may be time for the government to examine other ways of running the country, no matter how badly the new ways war against their ethnic sensibilities and stale orthodoxies. The National Assembly early this week angrily suggested state policing as a way out because, as they put it, all crime is local. But deployed in isolation, even this measure will fail to have the desired impact. What the political elite do not want to hear is that the existing structure of the country is fraying at the edges, and rupturing very badly in the middle. It is time, more than ever before, to reconsider the foundations of the country and initiate a total reworking of its structure under a new and more effective arrangement. Tinkering will not mitigate a crisis that is fast building up into a critical and explosive mass.

    Between the past six governments, some of them military, the country has toyed with about three national conferences. Other than tomes of reports, nothing has come out of the fruitless exercises. However, the agitations have not gone away. What is even worse is that much more than agitations, the country is itself fracturing before the very eyes of the country’s leaders who see restructuring as an evil ploy to balkanise Nigeria. They are wrong, naive and impressionistic. If they do not seize the initiative now to conceptualise and manage the needed restructuring to restore the country to the path of peace and development, but prefer to blame political and traditional elites whom they say are complicit in the crisis, the time will come when the tidal wave of events will sweep them away and replace them with something not very pleasant.

    The population of young, angry and alienated Nigerians is growing at an alarming rate, resources are shrinking, economic growth is unable to match the rise in population, attitudes and values are shifting or even morphing dangerously, ethnic and religious relations are fraying, and the political elite insensibly and obstinately operates a costly, contradictory, ponderous and ineffective political system. There can be no worse recipe for disaster than what Nigeria is contending with today. Either the government does not know this, or it is too proud to acknowledge or care about it.

  • It is ridiculous to say we bomb innocent people – Air Force

    The Nigerian Air Force has described as ridiculous insinuations that its air strikes in Zamfara State were targeted at innocent people

    The Air Force  spokesman, Air commodore Ibikunle Daramola, said in Abuja that some media reports insinuating that Operation Diran Mikiya killed only innocent civilians in the areas attacked and not bandits, were untrue.

    “The NAF finds such reports rather ridiculous because most of the locations attacked are within the Rugu, Sububu and Kagara Forests general area, which are known armed bandits hideouts that have been attacked in the past, without any outcry,” Daramola said.

    He added: “for the avoidance of doubts, the public is to please note that the locations attacked from 8 to 11 April 2019 were selected based on human intelligence (HUMINT) reports obtained from security agencies and other government sources, traditional and community leaders as well as reliable, vetted informants.

    “NAF also has Special Forces (SF) personnel operating in some of the areas attacked, who provided additional intelligence. These were all further confirmed by days of detailed day and night Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions to ensure proper targeting for avoidance of collateral damage.

    “To further ensure this, as standard practice, NAF attack aircraft on air interdiction missions are accompanied by ISR platforms that guide them to designated targets. Furthermore, NAF pilots, by training and in line with extant Rules of Engagement (ROEs) for the operation, do not attack any location if it is observed that non-combatants, especially women and children, are present. In such cases, the pilots would rather return to Base with their ammunitions unexpended. Consequently, it is inconceivable that the NAF would attack locations where innocent civilians reside.

    “ In view of the foregoing, the NAF finds it rather mischievous that anyone would spread such deliberate misinformation whilst the Service is doing its best to effectively respond to the challenges facing the good people of Zamfara State and its environs.”

  • Air strikes kill innocent locals, not bandits – Zamfara traditional rulers

    Military air strikes kill only innocent civilians in affected local government areas and five communities and not bandits, Zamfara state council of traditional rulers has alleged.

    The traditional rulers, who spoke through Emir of Bungudu, Alhaji Hassan Attahiru, told reporters that the air strikes have not been effective in uprooting bandits.

    Reports from the four local governments of Zurmi, Tsafe, Gusau and Anka indicate about five communities where the air strikes were carried out did not hit hideouts of bandits, according to the traditional rulers.

    Rather, they said innocent civilians were victims of the strikes.

    The council of chiefs also faulted Defence Minister Lt. Gen. Mansur Dan Ali who alleged some traditional rulers were supporting banditry.

    Read Also: NAF strikes bandits in Zamfara, destroys 8 camps, kills scores

    The Emir expressed dismay over the allegation and called on the minister to “as a matter of responsibility and urgency name those traditional rulers involve in such reprehensive activities for government to take appropriate measures against them.”

    Failure to disclose the traditional rulers involved, according to Attahiru, will render the minister’s statement false as just an attempt to tarnish the image of the traditional institution.

    The traditional rulers further noted with grave concerns the deteriorating security problems in Zamfara state, commending efforts of the stare and the federal governments in addressing the challenge.

    Declaring support for the efforts, the ruler said: “Over the past years, traditional rulers have cooperated with government and security agencies by providing information about locations, routes and names of persons engage in such criminal activities, unfortunately the military and other security agencies have failed to be on top of situation.”

    The council of traditional rulers called on the federal government to assist the state, especially rural dweller, which it said are badly affected by the insecurity challenge.

  • Air Force bombs bandits

    Eight fighter jets have been deployed in Zamfara State to chase out bandits who have seized the state by the throat, The Nation learnt on Wednesday.

    In fact, a primary school that served as a base for the bandits has been “shelled” by the Air Force, according to a source who pleaded not to be named because of the “security implication” of being identified.

    The news came as senators took turns to lament the security situation, with some calling for state police to stem the tide of violence.

    The source also hinted of the measures taken to restore peace in Zamfara and Kaduna states.

    The source said: “The roads linking Katsina to Zamfara State (Kauran Namoda-Zurmi-Jibiya road) has been retaken by troops and motorists have been plying the route again. The military and the police are after the bandits who have been fleeing into the bush.

    “A landing platform has been created in Birni-Gwari where military jets can land, refuel and takeoff. So, they don’t have to go to Abuja and Kaduna to refuel for operations. Eight fighter jets have also been deployed in Zamfara State.”

    President Muhammadu Buhari will today chair an “extra-ordinary” security meeting at the State House, Abuja, where he will be briefed by Service chiefs on the worrisome security situation in the land.

    Expected at the meeting are Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin; Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai; Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar; Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Rear Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas and Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu.

    Also billed to attent the meeting are Defence Minister Brig.-Gen Mansur Dan-Ali; National Security Adviser (NSA) Maj.-Gen. Babagana Mongunu and Department of State Services (DSS) Director-General Yusuf Bichi.

    A Presidency source, who confirmed the meeting, said the security Chiefs will take turns to brief the President who just returned from a trip from Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

    Read Also: Air Force kills Boko Haram leaders, others

    Comments on insecurity dominated proceedings, with senators taking turns to paint harrowing pictures of near breakdown of law and order in their constituencies.

    No senator wanted to be left out of the debate of what they described as the general insecurity in the country.

    They suggested “immediate and uncommon” measures to prevent the country from slipping into a failed state.

    The outpouring of indignation followed a motion by Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa on the need to create an intervention fund in the 2019 appropriation to cater for the deteriorating humanitarian crisis resulting from the activities of armed bandits in Zamfara State.

    Marafa, in his lead debate, said he was aware of the recent protest staged in Abuja, other states and indeed by Nigerians in the Diaspora as a reaction to the deteriorating state of insecurity in Zamfara State.

    The Zamfara Central senator praised the protesters for their support and stressed “the need to sustain such sense of solidarity, as it has the potential of compelling those in authority to do the needful”.

    He lamented that the activities of armed bandits, cattle rustlers and kidnappers remained unabated.

    The senator noted that many people had died since 2011, besides the humanitarian crises which include but not limited to growing number of widows, rape victims and orphans.”

    According to him, “a conservative estimate of 11,000 male adult have been killed by bandits, leaving behind an average of 22,000 widows (at two wives/person) and an estimated 44,000 orphans (at an average of four children/deceased)”.

    Marafa said that in terms of casualty ratio and displacements, Zamfara State has more security issues than many states in the Northeast and Northcentral that were being given prominence by the mainstream media and the Federal Government in terms of recognition and assistance.

    Marafa added that owing to cultural and religious consideration, the burden of the widows, orphans, rape victims and displaced persons was being borne largely by close relatives, extended families and sometimes immediate neighbors who can no longer cope.

    The killings, he said, have brought untold hardship to several other families who have to accommodate displaced persons and families, overstretching accommodation, food, clothing and other sundry.

    He urged the National Assembly to provide for N10 billion in the 2019 Appropriation as Intervention Funds to cater for displaced persons and others affected by the activities of armed bandits in the Northwest state.

    Marafa prayed the Senate to urge the Federal Government to set up an Ad-hoc Committee to be known as Presidential Initiatives on Zamfara State (PIZAMS), with a 10-year lifespan to manage the said funds and subsequent allocation/donations.

    He noted that over 70 per cent of the people were no longer sleeping in their homes for fear of being kidnapped.

    The senator relived how his sister was murdered by bandits in her matrimonial home.

    Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu said the Senate should join Nigerians and the media to show concern about Zamfara State.

    To Ekweremadu, the time has come for a state of emergency in the state, not to remove the  governor but to initiate extreme measures to stabilize the state.

    The Enugu West senator also said that the country should no longer shy away from introducing state police.

    According to him, state police will go a long way to nip in the bud most of the security challenges in states.

    Senate Leader Ahmad Lawan, who also supported the motion, insisted that the Senate should be practical in its approach to security issues because Nigerians were losing their lives.

    He recalled that the Federal Government recently banned mining in Zamfara State to prevent criminals from using mining to perpetrate crime.

    Lawan, who said that no amount is too much to save the lives of Nigerians, noted: “This is one motion that we can spend weeks to consider because it deals with why government exists.

    He suggested that relevant committees should engage security agencies to put the Senate in better position to appreciate what is going on.

    Senator Emmanuel Bwacha (Taraba South), who had earlier raised the issue of insecurity in his constituency, cautioned against living a pretentious life.

    He lamented that “never in the history of this country have we faced this level of insecurity”.

    Bwacha insisted that something uncommon must be done to save the situation.

    He said: “Before the elections, some people were grandstanding. Now that the elections are over, can we now do the right thing? There is no doubt, everything seems not to be working; we must do something urgently.”

    Senator Emmanuel Paulker said that the number of people killed in Zamfara State was more than the number of people killed by Boko Haram in Borno State.

    Senator Shehu Sani said that the killings in Zamfara State had gone beyond the state to other neighbouring states.

    Insisting that the Senate must agree that the country is at war, the Kaduna Central senator said that the reports from Zamfara were worse than the reports from Somalia and Afghanistan.

    Sani recalled how he escaped being kidnapped on his way to Kaduna State, warning that what is going on in the country are symptoms of a failed state.

    Senate Chief Whip Olusola Adeyeye identified the 1999 Constitution as the country’s problems.

    The 1999 Constitution, he said, cannot give the country peace, progress and unity.

    All the prayers in the motion were unanimously adopted.

    Senate President Bukola Saraki said: “From the contributions we have had, I think it is key that we begin to look at the problem and look for long-term solutions. I think that what we did yesterday (Tuesday) in trying to strengthen the funding of the police and what we have before us, the Police Reform Bill, which would be laid today. The sooner that we can pass that will also help us in addressing the insecurity challenges.

    “But more importantly is that we must go back to what a lot of us had been advocating here, that there is need for us to have state or community police. It is the way forward. Otherwise, we will continue to run into these problems. In the area of oversight, there is a lot also that we need to do to ensure that we hold the security agencies accountable. And we need to move very fast in this area.”

  • IGP visits Zamfara, charges Policemen to be offensive

    The Inspector-General of Police, Ag. IGP Mohammed Adamu has charged officers and men of the Force in Zamfara and Sokoto States to be offensive and take the battle to the bandits.

    Zamfara and Sokoto States are states in the North West currently experiencing the challenges of armed banditry and other associated crimes.

    The IG in company of the DIG in charge of Operations, Abdulmajid Ali gave the charge on Tuesday during a visit to both States.

    According to a statement by the Force Spokesman, DCP Frank Mba said the visit was to enable the IGP conduct an on- the – spot evaluation of operational and deployment strategies currently in place in both States and also to afford him ample opportunity to have a “one-on-one” interaction with officers and men on the ground.

    He added that the visit will also serve as a morale booster and help to galvanize local support for the Police and other Security Forces currently engaged in the Operation Puff Adder.

    While addressing the officers and men of both Commands, the IGP charged them to be on the offensive and take the battle to the bandits’ camp and ensure total reclamation and domination of all the public spaces occupied by them and bring them to justice.

    Read also: Banditry: Over 3,000 killed, 500 villages affected in Zamfara – Yari

    In a town hall meeting held in Gusau, the IGP commiserated with the community members particularly those who lost their loved ones or incurred one loss or another as a result of the activities of the bandits.

    The IGP however, called on the people to support the security agencies with human intelligence and any relevant information that could aid the success of the operation.

    Those in attendance for the meeting include; top government officials – Secretary to Zamfara State Government Prof. Abdullahi Muhammad, Chief of Staff of Zamfara State Government, Engr Abdullahi Abulkarim, traditional rulers, local government chairmen, farmers association, Mityetti Allah, religious leaders amongst others.

    On their part, the stakeholders commended the Federal Government for banning mining activities in their area.

    They equally requested for increased deployment of Policemen to their communities, even as they urged that the members of the Civilian Joint Task Force be allowed to join the Police in tackling the menace of armed bandits in their communities.

  • Banditry: Over 3,000 killed, 500 villages affected in Zamfara – Yari

    The Zamfara Government has said that a total of 3,526 persons were killed by armed bandits in the state in the last five years.

    This was disclosed by the state governor, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari on Tuesday in Gusau during a Town Hall Meeting attended by the acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu.

    “Nearly 500 villages have also been devastated and 8,219 persons were injured, some are still in critical condition. ”

    The governor, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Abdullahi Shinkafi, also said that over 13,000 hecters of farmlands were either destroyed or made useless as the farmers can no longer farm them.

    “The economy of the state has seriously suffered because thousands of shops were destroyed by the rampaging bandits who had displaced thousands of our people from their places of abode, many of whom cannot sleep with their two eyes closed because of fear,” he adddd.

    Read also: Zamfara killing fields

    Yari said the government had written volumes of reports containing over 7,000 pages, giving details of the crises right from the beginning to the infiltration from Libya and Boko Haram.

    He disclosed that the government was aware of eight prominent bandits camps at different bush locations in the state,  and urged that they should all be neutralized in order to decimate the criminals.

    The governor said that recent suspension of mining activities in the state by the federal government must “be followed by enforcement, because, it is one thing to ban, and another to enforce.”

    Earlier, Adamu, the acting IGP,  told the gathering that the police would take more proactive measures in the fight against bandits and commended the state government for providing enabling environment to security personnel to operate in the state.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the townhall meeting was attended by traditional and community leaders including herders and farmers. (NAN)

  • Buhari committed to ending criminality, banditry – IGP

    President Muhammadu Buhari has so much concern, commitment and the zeal to put Nigeria to order in the area of security especially to curtail the Zamfara state security challenges, the Inspection general of police, Muhammad Adamu has disclosed.

    Adamu revealed that it is in view of the escalating situation that the president has moved to conquer criminality and banditry across affected states

    IGP Adamu, who was in the state to assess security situation explained that he is in the state to have first-hand information by discussing with the people at the grassroot.

    Adamu revealed that recent ban on mining is not unconnected with available intelligence report indicating relationship between the miners and bandits in Zamfara state, the ban imposed on mining according to him is an excruciating blow aimed at bringing banditry to an end in the affected States.

    “We have put in place every mechanism to end activities of banditry, hence the launching of operation pump ader. We assure you that banditry and criminality will soon come to an end in all the affected states.” Adamu said

    Governor of Zamfara state Alhaji Abdul Aziz Abubakar Yari who was represented by the chief of staff to the government, Prof. Abdullahi Muhammad in his remarks disclosed that 3,262 people were killed, 8,900 persons were displaced while over 18,000 hectares of farmland remained uncultivated because of the activities of bandits in the state.

    Read Also: Buhari calls for safe, inclusive digital world

    Yari revealed that colossal amount of money that could be channeled towards providing basic social amenities to the people of Zamfara state was expended in the area of intervention and assisting areas and victims of bandit attack in various communities.

    Yari disclosed that the government has assisted in providing logistics to security personnel’s in the area of accommodation and recruiting 8,500 local vigilante and pay them a monthly salary of N15, 000 and provided them all with uniform for easy identification.

    The commissioner for local governments in the state Hon. Bello Dan Kande while commending the federal government for the banning of mining in the state revealed the government questions why expatriates are indulged in mining in Zamfara state.