Aminu Tambuwal, Governor of Sokoto State, has urged the Federal Government to recruit special forces to effectively tackle bandits running rampage in the North-West region of the country.
Governor Tambuwal made the plea when he received a delegation of the North-west Governors’ Forum led by Aminu Masari, Governor of Katsina State, on Wednesday.
The governors were in Sokoto to commiserate with the state over the recent attack on a bus that led to the killing of 23 passengers.
According to Governor Tambuwal, the special forces will complement the efforts of security personnel in tackling banditry.
He said: “Bandits have no religious, ideological or ethnicity inclinations; they are notorious criminals terrorising law-abiding citizens.
“The recruited persons shall serve as special forces equipped with right skills and modern firearms to confront bandits since the locals know the terrains.
“After the special mission, the recruited persons could be re-engaged as forest guards to prevent new security challenges.
“In Sokoto state, we outlawed the self-styled vanguards referred at ‘Yansakai’ whose activities of extra-judicious killings led to reprisals and escalation of the situation.”
Governor Tambuwal said the current security situation in the country requires everyone involved in tackling the menace irrespective of political persuasion.
He said: “All hands must be on deck to check banditry and to support President Buhari at all levels to contain the situation.”
In his remarks, Governor Masari expressed his condolences to Sokoto state on the recent attacks by bandits, noting that measures are being put in place to address the situation.
“Bandits behave worse than animals in view of the atrocities they perpetrate; people need to protect themselves,” he said.
“Police and other security personnel are inadequate, so we shall not wait for those barbaric bandits to maim and kill people at random.
“We shall confront them and deal with them the way they are supposed to be dealt with. It is no longer a blame game, rather we shall shun political differences to support authorities on containing the situation.”
