‘Zamfara is the epicentre of banditry in the North’ State Governor says

Zamfara State Governor, Bello Muhammed Matawalle, says until the bandit camps in Zamfara are destroyed, banditry will not end in the North.

The Governor spoke on Tuesday night in Abuja when the members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by its Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus paid him a condolence visit over the killing of eight persons in the convoy of the Emir of Kaura Namoda recently.

He said the reign of bandits in Northern Nigeria will come to an end if all governors in the region form an alliance to destroy their (bandits) camps in Zamfara State.

“Zamfara is the epicentre of banditry in the North and if the issue of banditry is taken seriously in Zamfara State, I assure you the whole issue of banditry in Northern Nigeria will end.

“So, I’m calling on my colleagues and the security agencies to put more efforts in Zamfara State so that we can identify all the camps of the bandits and destroy them.

“If we don’t destroy them, we may not be able to end the issue of banditry in the North or Nigeria at large. No matter what the bandits tell you about dialogue or reconciliation, we must be able to mop up the weapons in their hands, without doing so, we are not doing anything,” he said.

He explained the role he played in the release of 344 students of the Government Boys Science School, Kankara, Katsina State.

Matawalle said he was able to secure the release of the students through a dialogue with some of the repentant bandits.