Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai has stated that lack of cooperation among Northern governors is the reason why banditry has not been tackled in the North.
The governor revealed this in an interview with BBC Hausa on Monday after bandits raided communities in Kaduna State on Saturday.
El-Rufai, during the interview, said attempts were made at cooperation among governors in the northwest on tackling banditry. He revealed, however, that the attempt was not successful because governors adopted different policies in addressing the challenge.
Read Also: Nigerians Have Right To Live Wherever They Choose – El-Rufai
‘As a result, every state is fighting in its own way. If we cannot come together for the federal government to provide us with soldiers and police to enter the bush and kill all the bandits, it will be difficult to succeed in the fight against banditry,’ El-Rufai said.
The Kaduna governor, however, said that the state is working alongside Niger State on modalities to end the killings by the gunmen.
El-Rufai also said he was not going to dialogue with bandits as Zamfara State did saying he does not believe in dialogue.
‘State like Zamfara adopted a policy of dialogue with the gunmen, giving them amnesty, which I don’t believe in. With this, we have differences on how to tackle the situation,’ the governor said.
‘It is deceitful to believe that a person who is now counting millions as gains from ransom will embrace dialogue and return to his previous lifestyle where he saw little money occasionally,’
‘If the Federal Government does not give us the air and ground forces, these forests are invaded and these terrorists are killed at the same time, then we will continue to be in trouble.’
‘We in Kaduna are cooperating with Niger State. The governor of the state calls from time to time to gather information. We are doing things with them.’ El-Rufai Concluded.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK