September 12, (THEWILL) – Zamfara State Governor Bello Matawalle has said his administration will no longer grant amnesty to bandits in the state.
He explained that the decision was necessitated by the bandits’ failure to embrace the peace initiative earlier extended to them by the state government.
Governor Matawalle stated this on Friday after attending the Jumat prayer at the Dalala Mosque in Gusau, the state capital.
“They (bandits) sent a powerful committee to plead with us to cease fire and allow supply (of food and other essential commodities) but I refused. What we are doing to bandits is to send them to God, so they can answer their questions”, Governor Matawalle said.
He asked residents to be patient and support the government’s new security measures to flush out bandits and their collaborators, for peace to reign in Zamfara.
The governor said some bandits facing the superior firepower of security operatives have sent some persons to inform him that they have repented.
He added that the criminals are ready for a dialogue over the security situation in Zamfara, but it is too late for them.
Governor Matawalle commended the security agencies for the successes recorded in the ongoing onslaught against the criminals in the state.
He said some of the bandits were running out of Zamfara to other states as the new security measures introduced by the state government have cut off their supply of food, petrol, and other essential commodities..
“Politicians distributing motorcycles must stop, we will not dialogue again, we’ll continue to deal and fight with the bandits,” he added.
Zamfara is one of the worst-hit states by banditry in the north-west, where armed men have abducted hundreds of schoolchildren.
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