I know where bandit leaders hide – Gov Dauda Lawal reveals

Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State has declared that he could wipe out banditry in the state within two months if security agencies were placed under his direct control.

In an emotional video that went viral on Wednesday, the governor broke down in tears while recounting deadly attacks in Shinkafi Local Government, lamenting that security operatives on the ground often fail to act without authorisation from Abuja.

“I can tell you the whereabouts of every bandit kingpin in Zamfara, even with my phone. But I do not control security agencies, and that is the problem,” Lawal said.

He revealed that despite providing 150 patrol vehicles and logistics support to police, the military, DSS, and civil defence, security responses remain slow because they are centrally coordinated. The governor added that his administration had recruited thousands of Community Protection Guards and hunters from Borno and Yobe States to support local defence.

Lawal accused political opponents of exploiting the crisis, warning that their actions were worsening the plight of displaced villagers and farmers who have abandoned their land for safety.

“The politicisation of insecurity is not hurting me; it is destroying Zamfara,” he said.

Zamfara has been one of the states hardest hit by rural banditry in the North-West, where heavily armed gangs engage in mass abductions and raids.