Attahiru Ahmad, Chairman of the Zamfara State Council of Chiefs, has lambasted Mansur Dan-Ali, Minister of Defence, for accusing traditional rulers in the state for aiding the rising spate of banditry, insisting that he should have been dismissed from his position.
Ahmad, who is the Emir of Anka, made his position known in an interview.
According to the traditional ruler, the allegation made by Dan-Ali against the traditional rulers was grievous, adding that the Zamfara emirs decided not to respond as the minister also hails from the same state.
Ahmad insisted that Dan-Ali, whose Local Government Area in Birnin Magaji area of the state is also ravaged by banditry, should have relocated back to the state to find a solution to the escalating crisis.
He said, “It is very unfortunate for the defence minister to accuse us of aiding banditry. If it were in another country, the minister would have been fired because it is a very serious allegation. He said it was not only the traditional rulers in Zamfara that were aiding the bandits but even those in other parts of the North. But we kept quiet because he is our own. Go to his local government area and see what is happening. So, as a defence minister, he should have relocated there.”
Ahmad, however, commended the Federal Government for sending troops to the affected area but insisted the number of personnel deployed is not sufficient.
He said: “I have already explained that I have an able officer deployed in my domain. The only hindrance is that the troops deployed here are very few in number and have no required equipment to fight the bandits. Nevertheless, the leader of the team acts promptly and very fast whenever there is a problem.”
According to him, the soldiers are seriously inadequate, “not only in my domain, but in the whole state.”
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