President Muhammadu Buhari has ruled out amnesty for bandits and other criminals, saying his government will continue to deal with them decisively.
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He said this at the meeting of the Governors of the 19 Northern States, the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan; Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari; the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu; Director General of the Department of State Service, Yusuf Bichi; as well as the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, held in Kaduna on Thursday.
Also in attendance was Sultan of Sokoto, Saad Abubakar III and other traditional rulers from all parts of the north.
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Other attendees at the high powered meeting were northern lawmakers from both chambers of the National Assembly represented by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Ahmad Idris Wase, who stood in for the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, leaderships of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Northern Elders’ Forum among others.
Governors of Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Jigawa, Nasarawa, Yobe, Plateau, Sokoto and Kebbi States were present while others were represented by their deputies.
Buhari was represented by Gambari.
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“This meeting is coming at a time when the nation is making steady progress in addressing the many challenges impeding development and progress.
“We are providing critical infrastructure such as roads, railways, airports among which are critical to economic prosperity of our people as well as opening up economic opportunities for our citizens to pursue legitimate aspirations that grow the economy.
“At the same time, we are confronting the various dimensions of security challenges that continue to slow down the emancipation of our people from poverty and economic deprivation,” he said.
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“The Government shall continue to deal with insurgents, bandits, kidnappers and other criminals constitute innocent threat citizens across the country.
“Criminals are criminals and should be dealt with accordingly without resorting to ethnic profiling.
“I have already tasked the new Service Chiefs to devise new strategies that will end this ugly situation where the lives of our people continue to be threatened by hoodlums and criminals.
“I expect that at this meeting, your Forum will also discuss and devise ways of building stronger collaboration with the security architecture and the people in defeating criminality across the region and the nation at last.
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“It is pertinent to note that the increased realization of our security, democracy and development indices are inextricably linked. Democracy and the rule of law promote stability and in turn, reinforces the power to assert freedom and economic progress of our people.
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“This thread of interconnection needs the support of the Northern State Governors Forum and the entire citizenry of the country as any amount of positive sacrifice would be beneficial in bringing about National development and security out nation.”
