By Dooshima Fidelis
The Kaduna State Governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has renewed his call that security forces should bomb bandits out of existence from the state.
The governor made this call following last Monday’s night attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train. He noted that there was a collaboration between bandits and Boko Haram. He also insisted that more Nigerians were getting killed, and displaced in the Northeast.
According to him, farming has become impossible and rural economies have collapsed due to banditry, hence nothing should stop security agencies from taking extreme actions against bandits.
El-Rufai spoke when he paid a condolence visit to Giwa Local Government Area in the northern part of Kaduna State, where several communities had been under bandit attacks in the past five days.
Saying that his government was aware some forests in Giwa and other parts of the state have ungoverned spaces, the governor said this informed his call for bombing to wipe out the bandits.
He spoke of plans to suggest solutions to the security challenges at his scheduled meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari today.
The governor said he does not believe any innocent person could be in the forests, hence his call for air and ground bombing of the forests, as well as standby ground troops to kill anyone who escapes from the bush.
Besides, the governor said he would be asking President Buhari for the establishment of a Theatre Command in the Northwest, saying the problems of banditry and terrorism in the Northeast far outweigh what has been seen in the Northeast, adaeventsnews gathered.
He said: “With the declaration by the Federal High Court that these bandits are terrorists, nothing stops the military, the police and other security agencies from taking extreme actions to terminate these bandits without prejudice. This is what we have been pushing for for the past two years and I hope to see Mr. President tomorrow and I intend to present that to him.
“Now, we are seeing collaboration between bandits and Biko Haram, as we saw in the bombing of the tracks of the Abuja-Kaduna rail line.”
El-Rufai warned the vigilante group members of the local government against taking laws into their hands, saying that their actions were responsible for most of the attacks witnessed in the area.
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He said: “In the last five days, there have been persistent attacks on communities in this local government; Hundreds of people have been kidnapped, scores have been killed by people that do not even resemble Nigerians.
“These reprisal attacks are as a result of unlawful activities of the vigilantes. I therefore warn the vigilantes to desist from taking laws into their own hands. Not every Fulani is a bandit and not every bandit is a Fulani man.
“It is important that the vigilance group stop what they are doing, because if they don’t, this local government will become another war zone like we have experienced in Birnin-Gwari in the last eight to 10 years.”
The District Head of Fatika, Malam Nuhu Umar, advised the government to use technology to track the terrorists and eliminate them.
He urged the government to provide material and financial assistance to communities in the areas where terrorists had made farming impossible.
Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association representative, Yushau Abdulkarim, expressed support for government in whatever action it planned to take to tackle security challenges.
He said majority of herders were also victims of attacks by the terrorists, who rustled their cattle.
