From John Adams, Minna
Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello and the Senator representing Niger East Senatorial District, Alhaji Sani Musa have condemned the attack on another Military camp in the state, describing it as a declaration of war against the unarmed people.
Governor Bello and senator Musa in a separate statement in Minna on Friday said the attack on the Military Camp, the second in one month, calls for a decisive action and therefore appealed to the Federal Government to rescue the state from the siege of bandits.
The governor In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary Mary Noel Berje, said the situation has overwhelmed the state and need a genuine intervention from the federal government to teem these monsters who made lives miserable for the local communities in the state.
The governor while appealing for calm as the government will do everything humanly possible to bring the current security situation under control no matter how long it might takes, directed the State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) to immediately provide relief materials to the victims of Banditry attacks following influx of more displaced persons from the affected communities of Chiro, Kuchi and Guni to IDP Camp in Gwada.
According to him, “Government is not unmindful of the precarious situation you found yourselves in, we are making frantic efforts to intervene and ensure that your communities are rid of those criminal elements and made safe for your return”.
Governor Sani Bello, who acknowledged the fact that most of the displaced persons are predominantly farmers and needed to go back to their homes ahead of the coming rainy season, said the people will not be rushed into going back to their communities until ‘the Coast is clear’.
Also the Senator Sani Musa while condemning the attack, accused the government of doing little or nothing to stop the escalating bandits attacks in the state, especially in his constituency, saying that the people have been left at the mercy of armed bandits.
Senator Sani Musa said the security situation has been made worse following the closure and the subsequent withdrawal of both the Military and the Police from their bases in aftermath of attacks on their camp the bandits.
The Senator in a statement personally signed by himself, pointed out that “I have had reasons to call on the federal government to address the issue of insecurity in my constituency, the Niger East Senatorial zone of Niger state but either by commission or omission no serious efforts has been made to bring the situation to normal.
“In fact the insecurity situation in the zone especially in Rafi, Shiroro, Munya LGA has continued to to get worse with villagers ( my constituents) being killed , maimed daily and their property dispossessed daily”.
According to him, the attack on Military Camp at Zagzaga is another ugly Incident In the history of Insecurity In Niger East Senatorial Zone, adding that, “for years now these people cannot earn a living for themselves because insurgents and bandits have taken over their farmlands. Several of the villages have also been deserted because of the activities of these blood thirsty villains”.
He lamented that the situation has become more complicated to the extent that the few bases where semblance of security used to exist have been wiped out totally by these bandits.
“Despite our appeals, the military and the police have refused to restore the Special TaskForce sacked from Allawa and Bassa, leaving the communities to the mercy of bandits who raid their villages daily demanding huge ramsom from the families of those kidnapped”.
The Senator expressed worries that with the closure of the Military Camp at Allawa and Bassa, and the latest one at Zagzaga, “it means that in the whole of Shiroro and Munya local government there is no single policeman or soldier to to provide security for these armless villagers”.