16th December, 2021
By Habibu Harisu
Governor Aminu Tambuwal has urged the Buhari Government to declare a state of emergency on banditry as it would enable security operatives to access bandits’ enclaves and other hideouts.
Tambuwal suggested this on Wednesday in Sokoto when he received a delegation of the Northwest States Governors Forum.
The delegation, led by Gov. Aminu Masari of Katsina State, came on a condolence visit over the killing of 23 travellers in Sokoto State by bandits.
Tambuwal appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to declare the state of emergency to give security operatives additional operational laws to ensure maximum success in their operations.
According to Tambuwal, such a declaration would allow operatives to work without concerns about rights violations as the bandits were enemies of humanity.
“Bandits have no religious, ideological or ethnicity inclinations; they were notorious criminals terrorising law-abiding citizens,’’ he said.
He added that the Federal Government should initiate processes for recruiting locals in the areas affected by banditry to complement the efforts of mainstream security personnel to tackle the menace.
“The recruited persons shall serve as Special Forces equipped with right skills and modern firearms to confront bandits since the locals know the terrains.
“After the special mission, the recruited persons could be re-engaged as forest guards to prevent new security challenges.
“In Sokoto State, we outlawed the self-styled vanguards referred at `Yansakai’ whose activities of extra-judicial killings led to reprisals and escalation of the situation,’’ he said.
The governor added that legitimate vigilance groups were being trained and teamed with mainstream security operatives to support the latter’s activities.
“All hands must be on deck to check banditry and to support President Buhari at all levels to contain the situation.
“This situation calls for a specialised approach with a holistic support from community groups, religious leaders and other individuals to tackle,’’ Tambuwal stressed.
Meanwhile, he urged the citizenry to expose people supporting banditry in any form, especially the informants.
In addition, he expressed appreciation of the governors’ forum for the solidarity visit and the donation of N50 million to support affected families.