Insecurity: Kastina Gov Dares Bandits Despite Threat To His Life
- Justifies Decision To Establish Community Watch Corps
Governor Dikko Umar Radda of Katsina State has vowed to sound the death knell on bandits behind the killings and destruction of properties worth billions of naira in the state.
The governor said the initiative, which has been endorsed by the state House of Assembly, was in furtherance of the efforts to ensure that residents and security agencies work in concert to rid the country of the menace of bandits and terrorists.
Admitting that he had received several death threats from the bandits, he remarked that he was faced with reports of kidnapping, killings and theft of agricultural produce by bandits on a daily basis.
The governor stated that it would not be out of place to equip the Corps numbering 1,500 with weapons to tackle bandits and terrorists, who pose existential threat to the citizenry in the state.
His words: “It is a double-edged sword. We cannot fold our arms and say we will not protect ourselves because we don’t have the sophisticated arms that these bandits have.
“We have the numbers; we have the zeal and the determination; and you should remember, if they are going for any outing, it is just like the way it was done in Borno through the Civilian JTF. They will be covered by the police and the military, who are heavily armed.
“So, I think it is a concerted and joint effort. I think gradually, we are working within what the law allows us to possess. We cannot go beyond what the law allows us to do. We are driving towards that and we are seeking reforms within the Federal Government in that regard.”
a bandit can go to the market and buy AK-47, RPG and all of those weapons, what of the people that want to protect themselves? They too should equally be allowed to do so. These people are holding it illegally; we are trying to hold it legally.
“Why can’t the government allow the people to hold this thing and equally confront the challenges? I am telling you they (bandits) are panicking. What this thing needs is courage; the courage to confront it and you should remember, military personnel are being killed; police personnel are being killed. So, whoever sacrifices to offer this kind of service, he cannot rule out being harmed or killed in the course of doing this assignment.
“This is a sacrifice one has to make in dealing with this situation. Even myself, I have been receiving so many threats but that will not deter me. I have told you before, I will only die once not twice and it is only a coward who will sit back and allow someone to kill him.
“It is an obligation for us to protect ourselves. It is even against our religious belief to allow someone to just come and kill us and take our property just like that. We have to put efforts to protect ourselves; that is the aim of the government. So, we are seeking collaboration to address the challenges.”
