I don’t think any bandit deserves to live, says El-Rufai

Nasir El-Rufai, Kaduna state governor, says he does not think anyone involved in banditry deserves to live.

He said any bandit operating in his state is “most likely going to end up dead”.

The governor spoke on Sunday during an interview on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme.

He said: “I think that the bandits and their leaders decided to collectively target Kaduna state because of the position we have taken that we will not negotiate with them, that we will not give them a penny of taxpayers’ money.”

“And whoever comes to Kaduna for the purpose of banditry or kidnapping is most likely going to end up dead.

“We believe that the solution to this problem is to intensify military operations from the air or the ground and wipe all of them out. We do not think any bandit deserves to live.

“And we have made that very clear to the security agencies. I am very pleased that the new chief of air staff has continued the bombardment of bandits in Nasarawa, Kaduna, Niger and Zamfara and the bandits are on the run.”

He said courtesy of the collaboration between police and the military, “we will get rid of these bandits in a matter of weeks”.

Two weeks ago, parents of students abducted from Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, had staged a protest demanding the release of their children.

Commenting on the development, the governor said it will be detrimental for the state to negotiate with the bandits.

He said: “We commiserate with those that have lost loved ones but the solution is not to put your own personal interest at the head of public interest.

“And what is in the public interest is to ensure that you don’t empower your enemies by giving them money to buy more advanced weapons.”

El-Rufai also reiterated his administration’s stance on tracing and prosecuting persons negotiating with bandits on behalf of Kaduna state.