After several years of delays, President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday ordered an immediate response to rising cases of bandit attacks on communities in Zamfara State.
The action came after severe criticisms over the poor response to the activities of the bandits ravaging the Northwest region, in Zamfara, Niger, Katsina and Kaduna State.
Babagana Monguno, national security adviser, said 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.
Recall that recently, the speaker of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, Nasir Magarya, wrote a letter in which he appealed to President Buhari to intervene and stop the incessant killings by bandits in the State.
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In this respect, a meeting is soon to take place that will deliberate on security and the issue of illegal mining which is fuelling the crisis in Zamfara State.
In addition to NSA the convener, the meeting will be attended by Major-general Bashir Magashi (Rtd), Ra’uf Aregbesola and Architect Olamilekan Adegbite, ministers of Defence, Interior, and Mines and Steel respectively.
Also to attend the meeting are the director-general of the Department of State Services, (DSS) and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).
Beyond the problems of bandits and cattle rustlers, the scale of lawlessness has been aggravated by illegal miners who are harvesting resources they have no legal rights to exploit.
Official statistics suggest that there are more than 20,000 such miners undermining this important part of the economy, operating in a manner that is extraordinarily harmful and destructive. The result is chaos.
This meeting is expected to address these and associated issues of corruption, government oversight and lawlessness.
