Kaduna state governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has declared that his administration will not negotiate with or grant amnesty to bandits.
The governor spoke on Monday during a visit to some communities in Igabi and Giwa Local Government Areas of the state, which were invaded by gunmen on Sunday.
Over 50 people were said to have been killed during the attacks.
He said “in Kaduna state we don’t give bandits amnesty and we don’t negotiate with them”.
He said, security agencies had been asked to wipe them out, adding that the state government “will not rest until the bandits are completely wiped out”.
“It is our duty to wipe them until we send them to their maker, the security agencies are taking the war to the forest and we are eliminating them,” the governor added.
According to him, shortly after the bandits started the attack, there was security intervention both on ground and in the air and the bandits were wiped out.
He said “the security agencies are doing the best they can, but they find it difficult to get to remote areas in good time due to poor access roads while the native also find it difficult to alert security agencies due to poor GSM network.”
“But I am grateful to the Airforce, Army, police and DSS for being always prompt. It would have been worst. If not for their prompt intervention, they would have wiped out the entire villages, but people are still here.
“I also come to apologise to the community for failure to them fully, we are doing our best to minimise the situation…
“We are hoping that this bandit issue will be addressed because security are on ground to manage the situation,” the governor said.
He said Kaduna had vast land and “if the security closed one area, they attack another area.”
The governor called on the people to continue to be patient and vigilant and “continue to forgive us where we have failed to fully protect them, but never the less we will continue to do our best.”.
He expressed condolences to the families of those who lose their loved ones and directed the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to provide relief materials to displaced victims .
Speaking earlier, the District Head of Karewa, Alhaji Ibrahim Damu, appealed to the state government to intensify efforts in tackling security challenges in the area.
He lamented the persistent invasion and kidnappings in the communities, saying, economic and social activities have been destroyed.
The governor was accompanied by the Kaduna state police commissioner Mr. Ali Janga, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division, Nigerian Army, Maj. Gen. Faruk Yahaya, and the Kaduna State Director of DSS.
Source: THISDAY
