Hundreds of aggrieved youth staged a protest Monday morning on the escalation of banditry, kidnapping and other criminality bedeviling their respective domains in Kaura Namoda and Zurmi local government councils of Zamfara state.
The youth armed with locally made weapons, ranging from cutlasses and dane guns was said to have blocked Kaura Namoda-Gusau major highway in the state.
An eyewitness identified as Malam Danshehu Kurya, in an interview with Blueprint stated that the protesters gathered and stormed the highway early Monday over what they described as incessant attacks by bandits in their communities without a single response from the security agencies.
Blueprint reports that the angry youth blocked the highway along Kuryan Madaro junction and began to destroy public vehicles travelling along the road until the military responded and cleared the road for commuters to have access to their respective destinations.
The protesters was said to have strongly condemned the unending insecurity and simultaneous attacks from the recalcitrant bandit groups.
Meanwhile, police operatives were said to have dispersed the protesters to allow motorist’s movement on the road.
Zamfara state governor, Bello Mohammed Matawalle, has expressed concern on the recent escalation in attacks by bandits in some parts of the state. He strongly condemned the attacks by the recalcitrant bandits in the state.
Governor Matawalle also described the trend as a serious source of concern as he described the acts as callous and barbaric.
The governor who spoke through his special adviser on Public Enlightenment Media and Communications, Zailani Bappa, and made available to Blueprint in Gusau said the governor stated that the dialogue and reconciliation programme initiated by his administration had provided all the needed support required by the security agencies to enable them carry out their statutory responsibility more effectively.
