Bala Mohammed: LG officials, traditional rulers conniving with bandits in Bauchi

Bala Mohammed, governor of Bauchi, has alleged that some local government officials and traditional rulers connive with bandits to fuel insecurity in the state.

Mohammed spoke on Monday, before he had a meeting with security agencies, local government chairmen, and commissioners at the government house annex in Bauchi.

The governor said security reports from the Department of State Services (DSS) showed that there are local and state actors aiding bandits in the state.

“Recently, we are experiencing a surge in terms of the activities of miscreants and terrorists, especially bandits that are going around some local governments in the state,” Mohammed said.

“They have abducted a lot of people and we have lost lives and properties and of course, our security agencies have been doing very well.

“This is a very worrisome development because the majority of our people live in the rural areas and if there is insecurity there, we are going to have problems.

“There are a lot of incidences of connivance between local government officials, even state officials and traditional institutions with the bandits to short-change our people at the local levels.

“This is unacceptable. We will no longer tolerate this because there is nothing that is happening that we are not getting reports from the DSS.

“You are nonchalant and sometimes, forestry officers and those ministries responsible for settlements, forest reserves and so on, connive with these people.

“I am letting you know that from today, whoever connives with these people and short-changes the people will face the music. We are not going to allow this thing to continue.

“This insecurity is not happening in a vacuum. Somebody will not come from somewhere to secure us. We have been adjudged as the most secured state, but this is just a gimmick; we will no longer tolerate this.”

Mohammed added that the chairpersons of the affected LGAs had been directed to hold weekly security meetings. but they refused to heed the directive.

“The chairmen, who are the chief executives in their respective local governments, we have told them to hold weekly meetings with the security agencies in their local governments but they are not doing that and we have been lending you support to run your security,” he said.

“You are supposed to work with the district heads, sometimes, the emirs, the village heads, the vigilante and the security agencies in your local governments, but you are not doing that.

“It is very unfortunate that the situation is deteriorating and everybody is looking up to the governor and the federal government.”