The Senator representing Niger East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Mohammed Sani Musa said his people are ready to defend themselves since the Federal Government has failed to stem the tide of bandit attacks in his constituency.
He lamented that the recent attacks in the area between Saturday and Monday in Kundu and Yakila in Rafi, Erena in Shiroro as well as Kagara local governments have left four Policemen and five civilians dead.
Aside from that, many villagers were wounded and kidnapped by the bandits and over five hundred residents displaced.
Reacting to the attacks, the lawmaker in a press statement signed by his Legislative Aide, Sagir Tafida and made available to DAILY POST expressed dismay over the seeming inability of the government to find a lasting solution to the challenges confronting the area.
Musa said, ” my heart is pained seeing the bloodletting in my constituency. Women are raped and killed. Men are maimed and children rendered fatherless. This development is really sad, especially that it has remained a recurring decimal. We have made several appeals to the federal government, we paid a courtesy visit to His Excellency the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari on our predicament. But, yet no end to these marauders carnage as they keep killing and maiming our people.”
According to him, against this backdrop, youths in the area have decided to defend themselves since the government has shown a lack of concern to their plights.
“The youths in my constituency have decided henceforth to defend themselves in view of the failure of the federal government to address the lingering challenge”
“We have tried to calm them down all this while, assuring them of federal government’s intervention. Now they have lost hope that the federal government will do any justice to their plights”
It would be recalled that in March this year, Senator Sani Musa had appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari on the need to direct the Nigerian Army to set up a permanent base in some of the affected local government areas to help scare away the bandits.
He noted that the military base would be better than the current makeshift arrangement where troops are only deployed when there is an attack and withdrawn as soon as there is relative calmness only for the bandits to attack almost immediately.
“Farmlands have been destroyed and many abandoned by their owners who have fled their homes in fear of the unknown. These people are predominantly farmers and that’s what they know how to do. So, even food security is also threatened in the area. I am therefore appealing to President Buhari once again to direct the military to establish a permanent Base in the affected local government areas, especially those bordering other states. This will go a long way in tackling the situation.”
The lawmaker then appealed to his people not to take laws into their hands, but continue to hope in government, as he would continue to push and plead for help.
Since the renewed attacks by bandits in Niger East, at least hundreds of lives have been lost, and thousands of people have been displaced. Thousands of cattle have also been rustled while properties worth millions of Naira have also been destroyed.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK