Over 150 bandit groups operating in various forests in the North, says Katsina gov

Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State said seven states in the North West and North Central have agreed to recruit 3,000 special vigilantes to assist in combating banditry and kidnapping.

He also said there were over 150 groups of bandits operating in various forests in the North who owe allegiance to their different leaders.

Masari disclosed these while fielding questions from newsmen on the sideline of a Consultative Meeting with the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and traditional rulers, in Katsina on Tuesday.

He said the vigilantes would be trained by the Nigeria Police Force.

According to him, governors of Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Kaduna, Niger, Katsina and Nasarawa states had met and agreed to recruit the personnel to assist security agencies in addressing the security peculiarities in their states.

“I am not speaking for myself, but on behalf of the governors of the above-mentioned states. In fact, they are supposed to be at this consultative meeting we are holding here in Katsina, but I am speaking on their behalf.

“The issue of banditry in the North-West and parts of North-Central has transformed to insurgency, therefore, we developed different mechanisms to fight the menace.

“There are over 150 groups of bandits in the forests that owe allegiance to their different leaders.

“These people don’t have ideology, religion or sense of direction, they are just like wild animals,” Masari said.

(Nigerian Tribune)