From Tunde Omolehin, Sokoto
Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state has advised President Muhammad Buhari to recruit and train local citizens from areas where banditry and other forms of criminalities are preponderant as Special Forces.
The governor stated this when he received the governors of Katsina, and Kano states, Aminu Bello Masari and Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje who were in the state to condole him and the people of the state over the recent killings of 23 persons by bandits in Sabon Birni local government area.
He said the recruitment of such forces will help the security operatives in dealing with the bandits and criminals in the area as they have peculiar knowledge of the terrain and the hideouts of the marauders.
He offered that having been constituted and recruited the forces personnel should be trained and armed in order to enable them protect the lives and property of the citizens.
Pointing out that governors in the North-West region are already working tirelessly to address the situation of insecurity, he urged everyone to unite in the fight against the situation; and also called for continued prayers so as to seek Allah’s intervention.
The governor thanked his counterparts for their concern and the donation they made to the families of the victims.
Earlier in his address, the leader of the delegation, Katsina state governor, Aminu Bello Masari who is also the chairman of the North-West governors’ forum, announced a donation of N50 million to the families of the victims, saying the killings and destruction of people’s property is unacceptable.
He appealed to citizens to forge an alliance against the criminals, noting that as governors they were already taking measures in order to curtail the situation.
The governor advised the federal government to allow citizens bear arms against bandits attack, saying “that is the best way to tackle this incessant attacks on innocent people. ”
Also speaking, Kano state governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, advocated that the enclaves of the bandits in the state and elsewhere should be reclaimed.
He also said there is the need for the deployment of modern technology to strengthen coordination and flow of information as well as community policing in order to deal with the criminals decisively.