“WE KNOW THE BANDITS, WHERE THEY LIVE, THEIR PARENTS, WHY THEY CAN’T BE KILLED IS A MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION”-GOV DAUDA LAWAL

MaTaZ ArIsInG
Dallas, Texas

The Governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, has said the bandits terrorizing communities in the state and across the Northern region are known to the government.

Governor Dauda Lawal said his government and the federal government know who the bandits are, where they live and the parents of the bandits.

He regretted that his administration had yet to find out the ideology behind the bandits’ actions.

He stated that while Niger Delta militants fought for recognition on economic stance, Boko Haram is fighting for their religion but the bandits have not leaned their terror act to any ideology.

Speaking with Arise TV on Tuesday, Lawal noted that the bandits also do not attack the government but poor farming communities.

“Well, I mean, it all depends on classification. You can call them bandits, you can call them thieves, you can call them any name. But my understanding is what will be the reason for these banditry activities. That is number one. Two, if you talk about Niger Delta, I will say yes, there’s an economic reason why people are fighting to get certain things. If you look at Boko Haram, you will say that it’s a religious issue because they believe in their faith and therefore they want to defend their faith. What is the reason in Zamfara? We are the same people, 99.9 percent same religion. So what is the reason? What are they fighting for? This is the question.

“That is still what we’re trying to do because I cannot understand why. And imagine if today they’re going after government officials, they say, OK, they have grievances with government officials, but they kill innocent people that barely even eat one square meal in a day. What could have been the reason? That must be crazy. And that is still what we’re trying to find out. And to deal with that is you need to deal with these people decisively,” Lawal said.

Speaking on the efforts of the federal government to help address the issue of banditry in the state, Lawal stated that the federal government through the security agencies is doing its best.

The Zamfara Governor noted that the bandits are well known, however, the reason why actions have not been taken to arrest them remains an unanswered question.

He stated, “The security situation is not just for Zamfara. It’s across all the northern part. However, Zamfara plays a dominant role in terms of the banditry because this is where they have it. They move from Zamfara to Katsina, Niger, Kaduna, Sokoto, and so on and so forth.

“It’s the responsibility of federal government to provide safety of people, lives and property, which is the security forces that include the military, the police, as well as civil defense. Yeah, they’re doing their best.

“However, there’s a need to do more to deal with these guys decisively. Like I said, we know where these guys are. We know where they live. We know their parents. Of course we do. They live with, I mean, with the same community we live.”

On why action has not been taken, he continued, “That is the $1 million question that I should ask. It is something that we are trying to all put our heads together. That is why, from what I can do as a governor, to have this CPG as a first line of defense.

“Of course, military are there. Police are there, as well as civil defense. But they are not under my control. They are under the control of federal government. And they are doing their best. Like I said also, our security forces have the ability to crush these guys.“

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