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Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, has cried out that some people are busy sabotaging his administration’s efforts to quell the severe security challenges in the state.
According to him, those behind the scenes are sponsoring banditry and other forms of criminality in order to undermine his government.
Governor Lawal disclosed this in an early morning TV show on Channels Television in Abuja on Tuesday and monitored by DAILY POST in Gusau, Zamfara State capital.
“We have been trying to restore peace and stability in the state, but somebody, somewhere, somehow, has been negotiating with these notorious terrorists,” he added.
The state chief executive further lamented that it is very unfortunate that these negotiations are going on without his knowledge as the governor of the state.
When asked if he knew the person sponsoring the negotiations with the armed bandits, he said that he knew the person’s identity to some extent.
He lamented that as the situation regarding negotiations with bandits got out of hand, he had to seek an audience with the president to lodge his complaint over the escalating insecurity issue.
“We have all the Special Forces sent to Zamfara State with the latest technology, but the problem still remains, as they were given instructions not to cross certain areas or boundaries,” the governor said.
The governor maintained his earlier position of no peace accord or reconciliation with the armed bandits, pointing out that there had been several negotiations that did not yield any positive results.
“In Zamfara State, there have been numerous negotiations with the bandits, not once, not twice—what has happened?” he queried.
“For God’s sake, how can someone begin to negotiate with the bandits from a point of weakness? One can only negotiate with bandits from a position of strength when they know that you mean business.”
Recall that recently, the state police command announced that it had arrested some prominent members of the state responsible for banditry activities.
The command noted that it arrested an unnamed member of the state House of Assembly, a district head, and a former local government chairman in connection with banditry activities.
Though DAILY POST cannot exactly ascertain the status of the case as of the time of filing this report.
