President Muhammadu Buhari has issued a marching order to security agencies to do whatever is necessary to put an end to banditry, kidnapping, cattle rustling and other related crimes bedeviling Katsina and the Northwest region
The Minister for Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, accompanied by the Minister of Police Affairs, Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi, made the disclosure at an emergency town hall meeting with stakeholders in Katsina which was organized as part of measures to end the spate of insecurity facing the state and the region
While assuring the region of the determination of the Federal Government to bring its total brutal and ferocious might to bear on the enemies of peace in the area, the minister added that time has come to put an end to all forms of criminality.
He said: “President Muhammadu Buhari and his cabinet were saddened with the wanton killings and destruction of lives and property being carried out by the bandits.
“The marauding bandits terrorizing the North-West zone of the country have massacred over 8,000 persons in Katsina, Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto and Niger states.
“Their most threatening attack was on April 18, 2020 on Katsina villages during which 47 people were killed. These criminals attack mostly people in the rural areas; kill, steal and rape without mercy, they are practically destroying the economy of rural areas and the food supply chain of the country”.
He also declared that the charge received from the President is twofold; first is to put an end to the banditry group, while the second is to work with the government and people of the state to restore normal life, especially to the people in the rural areas and the farming community.
Also speaking, the Minister of Police Affairs, Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi, admitted that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) is bedeviled with unprofessional conducts that are not in line with democratic principles of governance.
He noted that the stakeholders’ engagement is coming at a time when Police in this country is being faced with the challenge of unprofessional conducts that are not in tune with the principles of democratic governance
Earlier, the Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari said the state government had made frantic efforts in tackling security challenges in the state.
