Bandits capture Katsina, Gov. Masari laments 9 of 34 LGAs under control of militias  

Bandits may have succeeded in capturing Katsina State, stabilizing firm control of 9 local governments in the state. Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State, on Thursday, cried out that the security situation in Katsina is worsening, disclosing that the bandits now control 9 of the 34 local governments in the state.

Governor Masari at the State House, Abuja, after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, had stated: “Certainly, there are going to be some issues, because in the entire state, the nine local governments are affected out of 34.”

Masari indicated that the state has been making efforts to liberate some of the captured communities and areas adjacent to the forests; but decried that  “there is going to be some drawbacks in some of the areas”.

According to the governor: “…the North-Western and North-Central parts of the country where these bandits are is a vast forest area and unfriendly terrain, so, especially now, during the rainy season, moving with heavy military equipment can be very challenging because the soil is soft, and the rains are heavy but it is doable. No situation is impossible, especially to a willing and determined mind. So, I do believe that we can conquer these bandits and stop them from hibernating into something else.”

Masari highlighted: “Currently the military are in Katsina for their annual super camp; so, over 2,000 of them are gathered in Katsina in order to really send a signal to the bandits that the military is ready and willing and they have the capacity to deal with the situation.

“The hope is that the military, including the police and other security agencies, have been given a marching order by the President to control the situation by all means and it is a task that must be done because we cannot allow the situation in the North-West to develop to a worrisome stage like it is in the North-East.”

The governor emphasised that actions are taking place in the rural communities to get rid of the bandits, adding that the displaced persons are well taken care of by the state government.

Masari stated that the activities of the bandits have halted governance in the zone. According to him, “state governments in the devastated violent zone are waiting for the military to take total control of the forests and other affected areas before they can roll out their good plans for the people affected by the banditry.” Apparently, the governors of the states ravaged by bandits may have been compelled to proceed on forced leave or be on holidays in the governance of the states at the moment, pending when the military recapture the territories under siege.

Masari had declared: “First of all, in the aspect of non-kinetic measures, what we are waiting for is for the military to take total control of the land areas then the state and local governments will now move in; especially in the area of education, access and water supply then their means of livelihood, which is mainly agriculture and livestock.

“For us in Katsina, we have concluded all our designs, but we cannot safely get access to where we can make reservations in terms of earth dams. We have already earmarked 30 areas in which we are going to reconstruct all the earth dams that are broken down and construct some that are new in order to provide watering points and again, we are reintroducing grazing points but as it is today, we cannot access the land.

“We have partners that are willing to join hands with us bit we have to get the land back in peace because nobody will go and invest where security is not very tight but with the current military operation going on, I am sure before the end of this rainy season we will have a very conducive atmosphere and free area that people can go back to their normal life.”