President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered a special focus on Zamfara state over the resurgence of banditry.
In the past months, the north-west state has come under a series of attacks while many residents and travellers have been kidnapped.
In a statement on Thursday, Garba Shehu, senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, said Buhari ordered Babagana Monguno, national security adviser (NSA), to pay close attention to Zamfara.
“In a directive to the National Security Adviser, Major-General Babagana Monguno (Rtd), the President ordered that there must be a clear pathway to ending the resurgent banditry that has continued to cost lives and the displacement of thousands of families from their towns and villages,” the statement read.
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“Recall that recently, the Speaker of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, Hon. Nasir Magarya, wrote a letter in which he appealed to President Buhari to intervene and stop the incessant killings by bandits in the State.
“In this respect, a meeting is soon to take place that will deliberate on security and the issue of illegal mining which is fueling the crisis in Zamfara State.
“In addition to NSA the convener, the meeting will be attended by Major-General Bashir Magashi (Rtd), Ogbeni Ra’uf Aregbesola and Architect Olamilekan Adegbite, Ministers of Defence, Interior, and Mines and Steel respectively.
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“Also to attend the meeting are the Directors-General of the Department of State Services, DSS, and the National Intelligence Agency, NIA.”
Shehu said beyond the problems of bandits and cattle rustlers, the scale of lawlessness has also been aggravated by illegal miners who are harvesting resources they have no rights to.
According to him, statistics suggest that there are more than 20,000 such miners operating in a manner that is harmful and destructive.
He said the meeting of the officials is expected to address these and associated issues of corruption, government oversight and lawlessness.
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