From Agaju Madugba, Katsina
As the controversy surrounding the recent coronation of notorious terrorist Ada Alero in Zamfara State rages on, Katsina State Governor Aminu Bello Masari said on Tuesday that he was shocked at the development which he described as unfortunate.
The Emir of Ynadoton Daji in Zamfara State, Aliyu Marafa, last weekend, decorated wanted bandit leader Ada Alero as the Sarkin Fulanin Yandoto, an action which reportedly led to the suspension of the monarch by the Zamfara State Government.
“We have not forgiven him for multiple killings Ada Alero carried out in Katsina,“ Masari said on a BBC Hausa Service programme monitored in Katsina, adding that he “was surprised to hear that an Emir conferred a traditional title on a terrorist.
“If he enters Katsina, we will arrest him so that he can answer for his atrocities. Even if they say he has stopped attacking people in Zamfara, we know that here in Katsina, he is still killing people and his followers are still killing our people.”
“We learnt that the governor has suspended the Emir and also raised a committee to investigate the circumstances of the coronation.”
Read also: Ex-Oyo governor’s farm supervisor abducted; N100 million ransom demanded
Reports indicate that the terrorist leader apparently walks free in Zamfara and that the chieftaincy title was part of a deal to stop his men from attacking communities in that Emirate and environs.
“Some senior Zamfara State Government officials attended the coronation ceremony,” a source said even as the Katsina State Police Command insisted on Tuesday that “Ada Alero is still on the wanted persons’ list and the N5 million bounty on his head still subsists,” according to police spokesman SP Gambo Isa.
Katsina and Zamfara states share borders with certain common access points to the Rugu forest, reputed to be a terrorist haven.