Bandits have taken over our state – Governor Bello cries out

Governor Abubakar Bello of Niger State has cried out over the activities of bandits in his state.

Governor Bello said the bandits, who are of Fulani descent have been out of control and unleashing terror on the state.

Fielding questions from State House correspondents after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, the governor attributed the surge in security challenges in the state to recent influx of bandits from neighboring Kaduna and Zamfara states as well as Benin Republic.

“Recently, we have been experiencing an influx of bandits from neighbouring states and even though our security agencies are doing their best, I found it necessary to update Mr. President on the situation.

“So, we had a very fruitful discussion and he also pledged more support to the state on security matters so that within the shortest possible time, we will address the security situation.

“The dynamics of the criminal activities have changed. They started with armed robbery then they moved to cattle rustling and then to kidnapping as a means of getting money. But recently the trend has changed, they started burning farms and animals. So, this has given me some concerns and at the same time it has kept me thinking, what is the motive. I am worried because this year most of the farmers did not have the opportunity to go to their farms to harvest even when they planted. So, the bandits torch the farms, they just burn everything.“This is a serious one because it does not affect Niger alone, it affects the entire country. So, when we are not able to feed our nation, then it becomes a major challenge.

“The situation is very bad. Niger is 73,000 square kilometers, it’s the size of the entire south south or south east. So, first of all we have a limited number of security personnel and I think we have to start thinking of increasing the numbers so that we are able to cover most of the local government within the state. Some of our local governments are up to 6,000 to 7,000 square kilometers from one local government.

“So, I have never subscribed to that negotiation. In any case, the bandits are mostly Fulanis that have no one to control them even their parents cannot control them. We call them bandits but these are common criminals, they are armed robbers.”