Bandits killed 220 Niger residents in 17 days, says governor

Abubakar Bello, governor of Niger, says within 17 days, a total of 220 residents were killed by bandits in the state.

In recent weeks, communities across the state have been subjected to attacks by gunmen who have been killing and kidnapping residents.

Owing to this, President Muhammadu Buhari had asked the military to respond fiercely to the attacks.

Speaking with state house correspondents on Tuesday after he met with Buhari at the presidential villa, Bello said he was in Abuja to update the president on the security situation in Niger.

He said the victims comprised 165 civilians, 25 security personnel, and 30 local vigilantes.

The governor said the bandits move from one state to another and that only a robust deployment of modern technology will curb their activities.

He added that clearance operations against the bandits should be handled simultaneously so that they can be flushed out at once.

“I’m very optimistic with the kind of zeal I have seen from our security agencies and all services. I’m very optimistic that the situation will be addressed. And hopefully, we should get a very peaceful state within the shortest possible time,” he said.

“We share borders with Kaduna, Zamfara, and Kebbi states, and these bandits have the habit of hibernating between forests, moving from Zamfara to Kebbi, and Kebbi to Niger.

“They take advantage of the cattle routes which they already know. They move on motorcycles, and most of the areas and communities they attack have no access roads. So, you cannot drive there. So, our response time is slow.

“But going forward, there will be new strategies which I earlier mentioned. It will help us. But I can’t disclose some of those strategies. But basically, the states of Kaduna, Niger, Kebbi would have to work together to address the situation.

“What I realise is that they have been taking us on a merry-go-round. When we deal with them in Niger, they move to Kaduna. When Kaduna deals with them, they move to Katsina. They have been hibernating in the forest. Some of these operations need to be handled simultaneously so that we get the result.

“We are not happy and we are sad with the developments in these states. We are doing whatever we can, using kinetic and non-kinetic efforts to see that we address the present situation.”

The governor added that the state hopes to experience some relief in the next few weeks.