Situation in Zamfara unacceptable–Saraki
The governor of Zamfara State, Mr. Abdul-Aziz Yari, has lent his support to calls for the declaration of a state of emergency in the state if it would save lives of citizens.
Yari who made the declaration in Gusau on Thursday while briefing the media blamed the continued killings in the state on informants who support the bandits and kidnappers.
It would be recalled that unknown gunmen have killed hundreds of people in the farming communities in the state in the last few years while many have fled their homes.
On December 24, angry displaced persons in Tsafe local government area of the state protested violently against the continued killings by bandits.
The governor however warned politicians against politicising the disturbing security situation in the state.
“I am also in support of the declaration of state of emergency if it will save the lives of people of the state.
“We are talking about the lives of our people and this needs the coming together of all, so that the crisis can end.
“If the provisions of my office had allowed me to carry arms against the bandits, l would have done so.
“But, if I am not around, there are capable hands that collaborate with the security team in the fight against the bandits.
“The security men are doing their best. But, it is sad to know that some of the people involved in the kidnappings are close relatives or associates of the victims, which is part of the reasons the problem is persisting.
“We must all come together and expose anyone or group that is part of these hoodlums, and we should also pray for Allah’s intervention,” Yari said.
He said both state and federal governments as well as security agencies had been making efforts to address the situation.
He lamented that informants had made it difficult for security agencies in the state to operate effectively.
Yari said most of the bandits and kidnappers received information from people in the state.
He said the federal government was doing its best to end the situation and had deployed more security personnel to the state.
“Before Buhari’s administration, we have few security personnel in this state, but today we have about 4000 security personnel including Army, Police and Civil Defence.
“I held a meeting earlier today with traditional rulers and local government council chairmen. We are working hand in hand with all stakeholders to ensure that we end this situation,” he said.
The governor urged all the citizens to stop blaming government for security challenges.
“I am calling on communities to always support security agencies with information on suspicious movement in their respective areas,” he said.
Meanwhile, the senate president, Dr. Bukola Saraki has described “barbaric” and “unacceptable” the bloodletting in the state and called on the security agencies to swiftly devise a strategy to put an end to the ugly situation.
In a statement signed by his spokesman, Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, the senate president said the situation in Zamfara State is a demonstration that unlike in 2015 when the only crisis point in the northern part of the country was the North-east zone, the North-west has today been engulfed by a bloody situation in which human lives are wasted on a daily basis.
“There is need for certain and proper profiling of the situation so that we can know whether it is simple cattle rustling, vicious armed robbery on a large scale, religious cum ethnic crisis or invasion by foreign forces.
“Our security agencies must immediately come out with a proper understanding of the situation, the right strategy and deployment of the necessary troops to tackle the menace. We must within the next few days send the right signals to the criminals in that area that the Nigerian State will no longer tolerate the on-going blood-letting.
“We must immediately change our strategy. Also, the President has to take full, direct control. May be the President must widen the consultation within the armed forces on the search for solution to this problem. He must go beyond the first line military top brass. We need to get ideas from more sources than we presently do.
“In 2014, I remember that President Jonathan was told that ‘you control the armed forces and you are the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of the Federal Republic, why should any part of the country be under occupation by criminals’. Why should we not apply the same logic to the occurrence in Zamfara today?
“Just as we also flayed the pre-2015 government, the situation in Zamfara presents a picture of the government denying the citizens their fundamental rights to life and rights to own property. The government must correct this by stopping the carnage in Zamfara immediately.
“It is a surprise that the Zamfara killings are not getting enough attention from the media and the non-governmental organisations. The Senate had sent an investigative team into the area a few months ago after Senator Kabiru Marafa raised a motion on the floor and as at then, we called on other security agencies to help the police in dealing with the matter.
“It is expected that by now, the president would have arranged a meeting with leaders of the national assembly, legislators, traditional rulers and other key stakeholders from the affected state, to exchange ideas and proffer lasting solutions to the issue. The key advantage of a democracy is that it provides for wide consultation and inclusion. No one person or group has all the monopoly of knowledge. We really need to do all that is possible to stop the carnage.
“Let me use this opportunity to call on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately give a marching order to the various security agencies and tell them to give him progress report on a regular basis. There is need for us to use the Zamfara case to demonstrate to all criminal elements that the government will not tolerate those who hide under whatever guise to shed human blood in our country.
“We should look at the Zamfara killings as a major threat to our democracy, particularly as we move towards election period in the next 50 days. We should not allow criminal elements to take over parts of the country. The situation in that state is an example of why we need to overhaul our security architecture in order to bring them to a state where they can tackle emerging challenges,” said Saraki.
