Kaduna state Governor Nasir El-Rufai has said the best way out of banditry and other forms of violent criminality is to hunt and kill all of them.
El-Rufai spoke Monday while featuring on a BBC Hausa Service programme.
He said his administration’s resolve is to “hunt the Fulani bandits down and kill them until the remaining surrender or give up banditry.”
The governor said taking the offensive to the criminals would show that government has the will and might to deal with them ruthlessly.
He said: “That is the position of Kaduna State government and that of our counterpart in Niger.
“We sat down in Katsina and spoke, governors of the north east, some are of the position that we should declare war on them but some wanted negotiations and offering them amnesty. That’s the problem we have been having.
“Like I said earlier, before now, Katsina’s position was negotiations and amnesty for bandits but now, they have shifted from that position and wanted total declaration of war on bandits.
“Like I have concluded, a Fulani herdsmen who used to make ten thousand in a month and one hundred thousand in a year after selling his cow will not stop banditry after he has made millions just on one job.
“Anyone who tells you a Fulani herdsman who kidnaps and makes millions will go back to the lifestyle of herding where he makes one hundred or two hundred thousand in a year is deceiving him or herself.
“So our position is for the federal government to use all its security agencies, the army, the Air Force, police and all security operatives to fight and kill them to the last.
“Perhaps, if they realise that they are overpowered, they are the ones who would come begging for amnesty.
“I receive reports of 10 to 20 arrests of Fulani herdsmen daily and someone is saying they would stop, I swear they would never stop.”
On the issue of compensations and amnesty for the bandits, he quipped: “What compensation? Compensation for what reason? They that just kill people, burn down their houses, what type of compensation are they talking about?”
Troops rescue 15
Meanwhile, troops of Operation Safe Haven have rescued 15 commuters kidnapped in two vehicles while in transit in Jagindi, Jema’a local government area of Kaduna state.
The state Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Mr Samuel Aruwan said this Monday in a statement.
He said the troops repelled the kidnappers and rescued their victims, adding that intensive search and rescue was ongoing in the area.
“Troops of Operation Safe Haven have reported to the Kaduna state government the rescue of 15 commuters in Jagindi, Jema’a LGA,” Aruwan said.
“According to the report, the 15 persons had been kidnapped from two vehicles in the area while in transit. The troops responded to a distress call and mobilized swiftly to the location. They repelled the bandits, enabling the rescue of the abducted persons.
“The rescued persons are listed as follows: Maisaje Pam, Samuel Peter, Ziyau Abdul, Henry Dabo, Abduljabar Auwal, Muhammad Ali, Dama Dabo, Ramatu Aminu, Muhammad Sani, Abdullahi Muhammad, Bashar Garba, Abubakar Musa, Saad Yakubu, Maryam Ibrahim and Lami Bitrus
“Acting Governor Dr Hadiza Balarabe noted the report with satisfaction and thanked the troops for their swift response, which resulted in the rescue of the commuters.
“The troops are sustaining search and rescue operations in the area,” the statement further added.
Zamfara fresh attack
And from Zamfara state came the report that bandits in their numbers stormed Goran Namaye town of Maradun local government area of the state, killing four people and abducting 50 persons in a fresh attack, the state Police command has confirmed.
Command’s spokesman, SP Muhammad Shehu stated this Monday in an interview with Blueprint.
He said, already, the search and rescue mission team comprising mobile police and other sister security personnel had been deployed to the scene to ensure return of peace and rescue of victims unharmed.
“The Command has formally discovered that the bandits kidnapped 50 persons, killed 4 people during the attack on Goran Namaye town of Maradun local government area in Zamfara state last night and we shall strive to ensure victims are rescued unharmed as relative peace has returned to the area,” Shehu stated.
Also, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ayuba N. Elkana urged communities to report any strange movement within their respective domains to Police for prompt response.
Resident narrates ordeal
Speaking to Blueprint on the telephone, a resident of the area, Sulaiman Gora, said the bandits invaded their town at around 1:30 am Monday, and indiscriminately shot into the air during which they abducted family members of the district head, Abubakar Musa and yet to be ascertained number of people during the attack.
“We just woke up hearing heavy gunshots in our town around 1:30 am of today Monday in the midnight and our people, out of fear, scampered for their safety. But we cannot ascertain how many of our people were kidnapped for now as I am talking to you,” Gora said.
He appealed to both the federal and state government to come to their rescue.
“We want to call on relevant authorities to as a matter of urgency do the needful by deploying more security personnel to our area in order to fight these dreaded criminal elements who terrorise us day in day out,” he said.
Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle had earlier initiated the peace reconciliation process during which hundreds of weapons were surrendered by the repentant bandits.
However, some of the bandits rejected the process and continue attacking innocent communities.
Family of fallen police officers
Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police Usman Baba Alkali has presented cheques to seven persons as next-of-kin of the deceased police officers who died in the line of duty in Zamfara state under the IGP Welfare Insurance Scheme.
Presenting the cheques on behalf of IGP at the command headquarters Monday, CP Elkana said the gesture was in line with the IGP’s readiness to cushion the hardship faced by the deceased family.
He tasked beneficiaries to make judicious use of the money.
Blueprint reports that the seven beneficiaries of the scheme include five women and two men.
Masari explains position on ‘self-help’
Also, Katsina state Governor Aminu Masari has clarified his call on residents to defend themselves against criminal elements terrorising the state.
In an interview aired on Nagarta Radio, the governor said: “It’s very important for the people to rise up and support the government effort. Apart from the money we are spending on security, hardly a day passes by without a person being killed or kidnapped. No single day, although the situation is not as bad as it was last year.
“We thank God for that but normalcy has not yet completely returned because just a few days ago about 10 people were killed in a village, how can you as a leader be okay with this situation?”
“When we came on board in 2015 we inherited killings and banditry in the state. In 2014 there was a single attack that claimed over 100 lives around Faskari and Sabuwa LGAs. This is the situation we met on the ground happening daily because we always received reports of animal rustling and killings attributed to bandits and local vigilantes-yan sakai-in the state.
“At that time Fulani women had stopped coming to town and farmers too had stopped going to the bush. We later discovered that it was not a problem of Katsina state alone, it’s a problem that affected Niger, Zamfara, Kaduna states and later Sokoto, Kebbi and Jigawa.
“The military supported our steps which led to our meetings in Kaduna to find a solution. All security agencies were brought in and they all worked together for a year and recorded some successes.
“Then, we met with the Security Chiefs at defence headquarters but after a year it stopped. We were later asked to return home and handle the situation.
“On our part, we discovered those bandits are Fulanis so we took advantage of that by ensuring that we got an official from a local government to be elected in their union and through him we reached out to those people in the forest.
“Later the SSG, police commissioner and DG SSS all went to the bush during that period but we discovered that the bad eggs among the Fulani that ran to the bush were to protect their animals.
“This is how we entered into a dialogue with Fulani leaders and the vigilantes across the eight LGAs. We reached an agreement at Kankara in the presence of all our traditional leaders including late notorious Buharin Daji and they returned with over 300 guns,” Masari said.
