The 19 Governors of the Northern Nigerian States have met with heads of security agencies on Tuesday. The meeting led by the National Security Adviser (NSA) on how to successfully tackle banditry and insurgency in the region.
Also, Service Chiefs and heads of intelligence agencies also met to discuss new strategies that will put an end to incessant killings.
The Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, whose state has been hit hard by banditry, brief the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof Ibrahim Gambari.
He told journalists that, “I am here to see the Chief of Staff because of the issue of security that is bedevilling Zamfara.
“We have discussed extensively the issue of insecurity in Northern Nigeria, not just Zamfara.
“Today (yesterday), Northern governors met in the National Security Adviser’s office with the Inspector General of Police and other security agencies.
“We discussed seriously on the issue of insecurity and the Chief of Staff invited me today to come and brief him about insecurity in my state which I did.
“We have discussed it and understand where we are going. Zamfara State government and the security are doing their best to ensure we contain insecurity.
“There are some repentant bandits that have already subscribed to the peace initiative. We are using them. Some that have refused to dialogue, we are fighting them, so we are using both.”
In addition, the Directorate of Defence Media Operations Coordinator Maj.-Gen. John Enenche, in a statement, said the meeting of the Service Chiefs was meant to find new strategies to address terrorism, banditry and other criminal activities in the country, particularly in the North.
Also, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Sadique Abubakar, on Tuesday in Katsina said the air interdiction component of the Nigeria Air Force in three days destroyed ten camps of bandits.
He said this while inspecting the ongoing construction of Aircraft hanger near the Katsina Airport.
In his words, “We have so far deployed 10 aircraft, acquired sufficient aviation fuel of up to 200,000 litres of JET-A1 and within these three days we have covered over 100 hours.
“We appreciate the citizens of Katsina for providing us with needed intelligence for without intelligence, we couldn’t have made any headway in the Northwest.”
More so, the personnel of the 404 Force Protection Group (404 FPG) of the Nigeria Air Force foiled an armed attack from Bandits along the Kwauya-Tsamiya Village axis in Kaduna State.
According to Enenche in a statement, the operation occurs in the early hours of Sunday following a report of raid on a settlement adjacent to the NAF Base by some cattle rustlers/armed bandits.
He added that the NAF Special Force deployed to Operation Badamamaki, with other local vigilantes, immediately located the bandit and engaged the criminals in a firefight.
He said, “The encounter made the bandits retreat in multiple directions abandoning 40 cattle in the process.
“While there were no casualties to any civilian or NAF personnel in the encounter, some of the bandits managed to escape with gunshot wounds.”
