Buhari gives bandits, others in S’West marching orders

President Muhammadu Buhari has given a marching order to security agencies to end banditry, kidnapping, cattle rustling and other related crime in Katsina and the North-West 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 organised as part of measures to end the insecurity facing the state and the region.

A report by The Nation added that the minister assured the people in the region of government’s determination to crush the enemies of peace and end all forms of criminality in he area.

He said. “President Muhammadu Buhari and his cabinet were saddened  by 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 was two-fold; the first being to put an end to the banditry group, while the second, 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, said that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) noted that the stakeholders’ engagement was coming at a time when the police in this country were facing the challenge of unprofessional conducts 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 to address the security challenges facing the state.