On a daily basis, 10 out of the 34 local government areas in Katsina state come under severe attack from bandits, Governor Aminu Bello Masari has declared.
Governor Masari stated this Thursday while receiving in audience the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen Faruk Yahaya at the Government House Katsina.
The governor told the visiting COAS that 10 local government areas had been under repeated attacks from bandits “who kill, rape, injure the people, burn houses and rustle cattle.”
He noted that even though incidences of insecurity had drastically dropped in the state but some areas “are still recording pockets of attacks”.
The governor urged military authorities to deploy the use of modern technology in going after bandits, kidnappers and other criminally minded persons.
“We are lucky now that we have modern technology that we could use against these criminals, adding that with modern technology a lot can be achieved in fighting criminals with fewer personnel,” the governor said.
He further said: “Here in Katsina, we have created three tiers of security success, from the community to the local, up to the state level, aimed at ensuring peace in our communities.
“We want peace restored as soon as possible and allow the military to go back to the barracks for the police to take over.”
He assured the army chief of his administration’s readiness to offer necessary support to enable the military discharge its duties effectively.
Earlier in his remarks, the COAS, Lt.-General Yahaya said he was on an operational visit to the state to interact with the troops in order to know their challenges.
Yahaya, who commended the governor for his support to the troops, said the visit was also to seek for continued support of the state government.
He assured the governor that the military would continue to work with other security agencies in the state to ensure relative peace.
The army chief further called on the public to support the army in the discharge of their duties, especially by providing them with necessary information on criminals.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the COAS had earlier paid a similar visit to the Emir of Katsina, Abdulmuminu Kabir-Usman, who also expressed serious concern over the issue of insecurity in the state.
The emir, therefore, appealed to the COAS to take all the necessary measures for Katsina communities to regain their peace and assured him of all the necessary support from the emirate.
Zamfara speaker laments father’s kidnap
In a related development, Speaker Zamfara State House of Assembly Nasiru Muazu Magarya has lamented how armed bandits with sophisticated weapons launched three different attacks on his home town, Magarya, and kidnapped his father, Alhaji Mu’azu Abubakar, wife (stepmother) and four others.
He spoke in a statement Thursday by the director general, press affairs and public relations of the state House of Assembly, Mustapha Jafaru Kaura.
Although the statement said no life was lost, it added that the hoodlums damaged the palace in the course of gaining entrance into it.
Magarya further stated that during the attacks, villagers were highly terrified by the incident which forced them to seek safety and which also paved way for the terrorists to have a field day.
“This is the third time in the last three months that bandits forced themselves to the town and caused serious havoc to the locals by killing innocent people, burning foodstuffs and rustling of unspecified number of cattle,” he said
Soldiers killed in Chad
Meanwhile, about 24 Chadian soldiers were killed on the night of Wednesday night during an attack by Boko Haram terrorists in the Lake Chad region, several Chadian media reported Thursday, citing local sources.
The attack on a Chadian army position in Tchoukoutalia, Lac province, was confirmed by the army spokesperson, Azem Bermandoa Agouna, who was contacted by Xinhua.
The counter-offensive is underway, the army spokesperson said.
Lac province is regularly the target of attacks by the insurgents. The last attack took place on April 27.
On August 14, 2019, a female suicide bomber killed six people after blowing herself up in western Chad.
The attack was attributed to Boko Haram jihadists.
“Six people died, including a soldier,” in the attack in Kaiga-Kindjiria district, said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Kaiga-Kindjiria lies in Lac province, which abuts the vast Lake Chad — a region shared by Chad, Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria.
Boko Haram launched an insurgency in north-eastern Nigeria a decade ago that has since spilled over into neighbouring countries.
It has carried out at least 10 cross-border attacks in Chad since 2018, mainly targeting army positions.
In March, 23 troops were killed when their forward position on the north-eastern side of the lake came under attack.
In June, 11 soldiers were killed and six were wounded in clashes at Tchoukoutalia, according to the authorities, who said 26 jihadists were killed.
Boko Haram’s campaign has left some 27,000 people dead and displaced around two million in Nigeria alone, according to some estimates.
In 2015, the four Lake Chad countries, together with Benin, set up a combined force to fight Boko Haram with the help of local groups of armed citizens. (Xinhua/NAN)
