A member of the House of Representatives representing Kaura Namoda/Birni Magaji federal Constituency of Zamfara state, Aminu Sani Jaji, has raised the alarm over the rising cases of insecurity and banditry in the state and called for synergy between and among security agencies and communities to address the issue.
Jaji, who heads the House committee on ecological fund, said at a news conference in Abuja that the level of insecurity in the state is at such a high level that the people of the state, particularly Kaura Namoda/Birni Magaji, just walk around aimlessly, not knowing where they are going.
He said there was no need for a state of emergency in Zamfara as being demanded by some persons, since there was no complete breakdown of law and order in the state.
He, however, opposed the clamour for the hiring of machinery by the government to help in the fight against banditry, adding that security agents in the country should rather be encouraged and equipped to carry out their assigned mandate.
Jaji painted a gloomy picture of happening in the area, which he said has gone unreported, adding that over 200 persons are currently in captivity of the bandits while they parade the area unchally.
He recalled that one of the promises of the present government during the campaign was to ensure the security of the lives of the people, warning that although the government is doing everything possible to keep the promise, there is a lot that still needs to be done.
The lawmaker said the situation in the state has become so alarming to the extent that kidnapping and invasion of communities have become almost a daily occurrence, with about 60 persons kidnapped from a village about 2 weeks ago, while the kidnappers demanded about N30 million for their release.
He said even after some of the victims were killed, the kidnappers kept insisting on the N30 million ransom, with their leader insisting on killing a young man who fell in his presence because of his ailment.
“The leader of the kidnappers went to the House of the young man who was epileptic and insisted that the family bring him out for him to shoot. When they were delaying in bringing him, they shot two in the compound, saying they would keep killing them until they brought him out. The father had to bring out the boy, and they shut him.
“Another situation was when a pregnant woman who was kidnapped delivered a set of twins in the kidnappers’ den. The leader collected the children and threw them to his dogs. That is the situation we find ourselves in right now.
“The people cannot go to the farm right. In fact, the people of my constituency are just walking around, not because they know where they are going. The people of Zamfara and, by extension, the North West deserve to be protected. We need action to be taken.
“I am aware that the government is doing its best. But there is a lot that needs to be done. We need serious stakeholder collaboration. There is a need for synergy between the security agencies and the communities. We need collective responsibility to address the challenges we are facing at the moment.
“Insecurity is one issue that we must all have a consensus on how to address. If we don’t do that, it might consume not only Zamfara and the North West, but the entire country. Right now, it is negatively affecting the country’s GDP because there is no access to agriculture.
“Whether micro or macro operation, something must be done. We must have a plurality of what must be done. Our role as legislators is to represent the people and do what we think is right by the laws of the land.”
Speaking on the resurgence of Boko Haram and the clamour for machine guns, Jaji expressed concern about the management of repentant Boko Haram, whom he said had been trained and indoctrinated to kill.
He said such repentant Boko Haram members need to be deradicalised so that they don’t return to their activities before being re-integrated into society, adding that there should be a government policy of deradicalisation.
He said the head of the security agencies and the National Security Adviser should take it as a matter of priority to first deradicalise repentant Boko Haram members, while expressing confidence in the ability of the nation’s security to tackle the situation.
