Gov. Bello Reveals Identity Of Bandits Terrorising Niger State

Abubakar Sani Bello, Niger state governor, has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to provide him with the aid  needed in tackling the scourge of banditry that betides the state.

Ekohotblog reports Bello made the plea when he met with the president on Wednesday.

Addressing newsmen after the meeting, Bello bemoaned the dearth of security operatives in the state, saying that should be the first point of focus in addressing the menace of insecurity in the state.

Niger has recorded high incidents of banditry and kidnapping.

The governor also asked the president to help in repairing deplorable roads in the state as most of the roads that lead to the enclave and hideouts of the the bandits are not motorable.

The governor disclosed that bandits from Mali and Sudan have made foray into the state and that they form the bulk of those terrorising the state.

He said situation has been further aggravated by the expanse of land with most having little or no government presence, noting that Niger with 73,000 square kilometers is the size of the entire south-south and south-east.

“So, first of all, we have a limited number of security personnel and I think we have to start thinking of increasing the number so that we are able to cover most of the local government within the state” He said

“Some of our local governments are up to 6,000 to 7,000 square kilometers. For example, the Bobi Grazing Reserve, established by the state government, the CBN and the federal government to stop the movement of cattle and avoid herders/farmers conflict, has become a target.

“We are having an influx of bandits from neighbouring states, especially Zamfara and Kaduna states. It is difficult to patrol those areas because vehicles do not go there and it is a forest, which means we will need the federal might, especially the air force.

“By the way, the air force has been doing well in recent times to support our ground operations. In one particular case, we arrested bandits that are foreigners from as far as Sudan and Mali and they came on motorcycles.

The governor, who said the activities of the bandits vary considerably depending on milieu, disclosed that the bandits are now recruiting through social media using Facebook in some cases adding that the bandits confessed to this.

The governor said the bandits to create food scarcity in the country by burning farms.

“I can understand if you kidnap, you are looking for money. But, when you burn farms, then, there is something else happening. Or when you kill animals. They go to villages and kill animals. They don’t steal,” he said.

Read Also: Bandits Kill PDP Chieftain In Niger State, Abduct 3 Children

“So, if you stop people from going to farms, it means you are trying to deprive that nation of food security.

“Why will someone want to deprive people of food security? Niger State has the capacity of feeding the entire country. We have the water bodies for dry season farming, we produce a lot of rice, maize.