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Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State has said declaration of a state of emergency on banditry would enable security operatives access to clear bandits’ enclaves and other hideouts.
He made the suggestion when he received a delegation of the Northwest States Governors Forum led by Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State.
On December 6, in Isa Local Government Area, bandits set 23 passengers ablaze in a bus.
Addressing the governor who were on a condolence visit, Tambuwal appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to declare the state of emergency so as to give security operatives additional operational laws to ensure maximum successes in their operations. He said such declaration would allow operatives to work without concerns about rights violations as the bandits were enemies of humanity.
“Bandits have no religious, ideological or ethnicity inclinations; they are notorious criminals terrorising law-abiding citizens.’’
He advised the Federal Government to initiate processes for recruiting locals in the areas affected by banditry to complement efforts of mainstream security personnel to tackle the menace.
“The recruited persons shall serve as special forces equipped with right skills and modern firearms to confront bandits since the locals know the terrains. After the special mission, the recruited persons could be re-engaged as forest guards to prevent new security challenges.
“In Sokoto State, we outlawed the self-styled vanguards referred to as ‘Yansakai’ whose activities of extra-judicious killings led to reprisals and escalation of the situation,’’ he said.
The governor added that legitimate vigilance groups were being trained and teamed with mainstream security operatives to support the latter’s activities.
“All hands must be on deck to check banditry and to support President Buhari at all levels to contain the situation. This situation calls for specialised approach with holistic support from community groups, religious leaders and other individuals to tackle.”
Tambuwal, who urged the citizenry to expose people supporting banditry in any form, especially the informants, thanked the governors forum for the solidarity visit and the donation of N50 million to support affected families.
Governor Masari, who said the visit was to commiserate with Tambuwal over the unfortunate attacks and the loss of lives stressed also that it was time citizens and communities stood up to protect themselves.
“Bandits behave worse than animals in view of the atrocities they perpetrate; people need to protect themselves. The issue of banditry in Northwestern part of the country is not beyond us. We know the problem and the solutions are something that we as a people are capable of doing.This is provided that all of us take responsibility and stop the blame game.
“Banditry, especially our own in the Northwestern part of the country can easily be dealt with if all hands are put on deck. This is because it has no religious coloration, no ethnic coloration, it is not ideological. It is simply pure criminality.”
While acknowledging that the Police had limitations in fighting insecurity, Masari said security agencies required technologies to effectively tackle the challenge.
“We need to know where the bandits are recruited, at what price are they recruited, all these are issues that are very well known to us. These are issues we should have the capacity to do provided there is determination, there is leadership and there is political will.
“We have no alternative; we have to conquer our environment in order to survive in it.
“We in the Northwestern governor’s forum, together with the governors of Plateau, Nasarawa and Niger, are working with the Federal Government to come up with strategies and solutions.
Similarly, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State said blaming each other would not bring any solution to the security challenge.
“We have seen a lot in this country. The issue started with cattle rustling that looked so simple and so indigenous. We did not even investigate it to find out what was its root course.
“Cattle rustling has graduated to kidnapping, kidnapping graduated to banditry while we are fighting Boko haram on the other side.
“We have to break that cycle. Our first challenge is how we reclaim our forests without being affected by the bandits,” he said.
Proffering solution, Ganduje said data must be sourced while also calling for the use of technology in the fight against insecurity.
“There must be planning, there must be data, there must be commitment, there must be timeline for whatever we are going to do. How far have we involved communities? We must go back to the drawing board. The communities need to be involved, there must be community policing,” he said.
