Tuesday, June 11, 2024 -Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal has alleged that some of his political foes are negotiating with bandits without his knowledge.
Lawal who disclosed this
during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise
Daily programme on Tuesday, June 11,
2024, also lamented the'' laid back'' attitude of the police and the military
in combating the menace of banditry plaguing the North-West state.
“At a point, I had to really come and say it clearly because
when we are trying to take care of the situation, somebody somewhere is
negotiating with the bandits without my knowledge,” he lamented, adding that
the series of negotiations with bandits by previous administrations did not
yield any positive results and there was no basis to continue with such venture
which, he said, enrich the vicious marauders.
When asked whether he knows the identity of those negotiating with bandits, he
said, “To some extent, we do.”
Speaking further, he said the uninspiring attitude of Federal
Government-controlled security agencies was responsible for the creation of the
state security outfit, Community Protection Guards in January.
“We, as governors, don’t have control over the military, we
don’t have control over the police as well as the civil defence. In most cases,
we get frustrated,” the governor said.
He said there are a lot of political undertones to the
security issues in the state.
“Sometimes, when you’re really helpless. When you need them
(security agents), they are not there. Even when they are there, they are given
certain instructions on what to do and not what to do,” he said.
The governor said the marauding bandits whose
kidnapping-for-ransom trade is booming in the state can be strangulated in two
weeks with the right political will.
"In two weeks, we can take care of the situation
but the political will is not there,” he said.
"We know who they (bandits) are. We know where
they live. It’s just that there is no political will.”
The governor said he has met with all the service chiefs and
cried for help to save the state but the political will has been missing in the
fight against bandits
"“Zamfara State has become the hub of banditry in
Nigeria. If you are able to take care of Zamfara today, you have solve more
than 90% issues in northern Nigeria as a whole.”
Lawal said he has met with President Bola Tinubu to complain
about the saboteurs to the security challenges in the state. He said the
President has assured him that something would be done to address the
challenges.
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