Don’t grant bandits amnesty, Buhari warns governors

President Muhammadu Buhari has warned state governors not to grant bandits amnesty, noting that rewarding them with money and vehicles may “boomerang disastrously.”

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, quoted Buhari as asking governors “to review their policy of rewarding bandits with money and vehicles.”

He also advised state and local governments to be more proactive by improving security around schools and their surroundings.

He condemned the abduction of 317 girls in Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe in Zamfara State, describing it as inhumane and totally unacceptable.

He warned bandits that they could not defeat government, noting, “No criminal group can be too strong to be defeated by the government. The only thing standing between our security forces and the bandits are the rules of engagement.

“Let them not entertain any illusions that they are more powerful than the government. They shouldn’t mistake our restraint for the humanitarian goals of protecting innocent lives as a weakness or a sign of fear or irresolution.”