The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has donated drugs worth millions of naira to victims of banditry in various parts of Katsina State.
The NEMA Director General, Mr Mustapha Maihaja, said on Wednesday in Katsina that the drugs were for treatment of 27 different ailments.
Maihaja said that the drugs should be distributed to various hospitals in the affected local government areas for treatment of the victims.
The director-general, represented by the NEMA Zonal Coordinator, Alhaji Abbani Imam, said the gesture was part of the efforts to improve the living condition of the people affected by the banditry incidents.
Maihaja commended the state government for the steps taken in tackling banditry, assuring that the Federal Government would continue to provide relief materials to disaster victims.
The director-general urged the state government to ensure that the drugs were given to the targeted people.
Responding, the Governor of Kastina State, Aminu Masari, commended NEMA for givingthe drugs to victims of banditry.
Masari, represented by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Yau Gojo-gojo, assured that the drugs would be distributed to various hospitals in the affected local government areas.
He said that the dialogue with bandits initiated by the state government had yielded positive results.
According to him, over 70 per cent of the bandits have embraced dialogue and people in the affected areas have been doing their legitimate socio-economic activities without problems.
Masari also urged people of the state to cooperate with the government’s decision to lockdown Daura local government area to prevent spread of covid-19 to other parts of the state.
“I am calling on the residents of Daura to be patient with the government on the lockdown measure.
“The decision was taken in the best interest of people in the state.
“The government will continue to ensure that it improves the living condition of the residents,” he said.
In his remarks, the Executive Secretary, State Emergency Management Agency, Alhaji Babangida Muhammad, commended NEMA for donating the items to the victims of banditry in the state.
Muhammad urged the people of the state to continue to pray to God to prevent the state, country and the entire world from COVID-19.
He enjoined the people to continue to imbibe the culture of washing their hands with running water and soap frequently, avoid public gatherings and observe social distancing as measures against spread of COVID-19.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some local government areas that suffered banditry attack in recent times included Batsari, Safana, Danmusa, Jibia, Sabuwa, Faskari, Dandume, Dutsinma, Kurfi and Kankara. (NAN)