By Tosin Olatokunbo
Armed bandits have refused to leave President Muhammdu Buhari’s state, Katsina alone despite the president’s repeated warnings that they will be met with brute force.
Not even several monetary placation by the governor of the state, Aminu Massari has deterred the blood thirsty criminals from unleashing terror on the state.
But President Buhari, again on Sunday, warned the bandits that the security agencies are coming after them with more ferocity after they attacked three communities and killed 47 persons last Saturday.
Earlier in February, Suspected bandits invaded two villages in Batsari local Government area of the state and killed 33 people.
At the peak of the attacks in September last year, Governor Masari had visited the bandits in their hideouts alongside some other officials of the state, to plead with them to stop their incessant attacks on his state.
Governor Masari justified his action at the time “We are ready to dialogue with the bandits and are ready to go anywhere they invited us, because we are not afraid to meet anybody to end this problem.
As a leader, I must find the solution to the problem so that if today I die, I know how to defend myself before God. I will not allow this to continue. Enough is enough,” he said.
The bandits only allowed peace to reign for some time after which they reinforced more attacks on rural communities.
The president said the time for treating the criminals with kid gloves is now over.
According to a statement by Garba Shehu, the president’s spokesperson, Buhari was deeply saddened by the latest attacks, calling Nigerians to remain positive because his administration is ever determined to defeat and crush these criminal elements taking advantage of the COVID 19 lock-down to attack their victims.
Buhari said he will no longer tolerate senseless and large scale killing of innocent Nigerians by the bandits, and will deal decisively with the criminals “in line with my commitment to security of the people, these attacks will be met with decisive force.”
The president’s new strategy, sources from Defence Headquarters say, will include the deployment of police, army, air force, civil defence, to restore normalcy in the affected communities.
The State’s Police Command confirmed the Saturday attacks and the casualty.
The command’s spokesman, Gambo Isah, said in a statement made available to journalists on Sunday in Katsina that the bandits indeed unleashed mayhem on the communities.
Isah disclosed that the bandits carried out the attacks in Dutsinma, Danmusa and Safana local government areas in the wee hours of April 18.
Watchers of the state politics told the magazine that time will tell whether the president will match words with action of completely ridding the state of armed bandits.
