Former Governor of Lagos State and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has donated the sum of N50 million to families of victims of the recent killings by bandits on communities in Niger State this month alone.
Tinubu, who made the donation on Thursday when he paid a visit to the state, decried the security situation in the country and said it can be fixed with prayers and self-belief.
He asked Nigerians not to see the nation’s security challenges as a hopeless situation.
“We share in your grief, I am here for the people of Niger State, hearing and reading of disasters, banditry and cattle rustling every day, just like what happened on Wednesday again,” he said.
In his remarks, Governor Abubakar Bello endorsed the presidential aspirations of the National Leader of the APC ahead of the 2023 Presidential election.
While receiving Tinubu at the Niger State Government House, said he is looking forward to seeing him lay the kind of foundation he laid for the massive transformation in Lagos for Nigeria.
“Lagos is a country within a country, and we saw the foundation you laid there, we are looking forward to seeing you replicate it for Nigeria,” he said.
Bello who appreciated the former Lagos state Governor for sympathising with the State government and people over the incessant banditry attacks.
On the security situation in the state, the governor said no where is safe in the country and recounted how some villagers in Mashegu were murdered in cold blood by bandits while observing their early morning prayers in the Mosque.
He stated, “Where are we safe, in a place of worship, people can be killed. We are not dealing with human beings, but people whose heart has been cemented for evil, no amount of talking or dialogue can change them.
“Recently, they went to a village while they were observing their early morning prayers. They locked the door and started shooting indiscriminately, killing 18 and only those that forced the door open survived and few days later they did same in another village.”
He appealed to the Federal Government to change its approach to the ongoing war against banditry and terrorism, calling for a technological driven warfare, rather than conventional approach.
“We don’t fight conventional warfare. Let’s use technology even though it is expensive, the situation can be addressed that way
“The era of sending soldiers to the forest is over when we can deploy drones to monitor movement of bandits and hit target effortlessly,” he added.
NewsWireNGR gathered that no fewer than 200 people, including security operatives, have been killed in various attacks by bandits on communities in Niger State this month alone.
The state governor, Abubakar Bello, disclosed this on Tuesday shortly after he met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Villa in Abuja.
He stated that the criminals who have been proscribed as terrorists by the Federal Government also invaded hundreds of communities and abducted scores of residents.
“In January alone this year, we suffered not less than 50 reported attacks and loss of lives between 1st and 17th January,” the governor told State House correspondents in the nation’s capital. “Within the same period, not less than 300 communities have been invaded by bandits.
“The number of people kidnapped is 200, including three Chinese nationals. We also lost some security personnel – their number is 25. Unfortunately, we lost about 165 civilians and 30 local vigilantes. So, it’s a very dire situation that we have been battling in the last few weeks since the beginning of this year.”
