October 11, (THEWILL) – Minister of State Defence, Bello Mohammed Matawalle, has appealed to community leaders to support the fight against bandits’ activities within the Northwest states.
He made the appeal while embarking on an assessment tour of eastern Sokoto in order to boost the morale of military operations ‘Fansan Yamma’ in the northwest.
Matawalle, who visited Gundumi, Isa, Turba, Sabon Birni and Gatawa, assured the people of the Federal Government support in the fight against insecurity bedevilling the area.
He said that fighting banditry, terrorism and kidnapping for ransom should be a collective responsibility of all citizens as some notables among us have neglected their opportunities to tackle the menace on political and selfish grounds.
According to him, “President Bola Tinubu has accorded priority to the fight against the menaces and ensured the right allocations and support to the sector, however, some people in leadership positions have been abandoning their responsibilities which has allowed the situation to worsen.
“The fight against these criminalities should be considered beyond politics, religious or ethnic differences as it requires collective support and collaboration among state governments, traditional institutions and community members at large.
“The deadly fight is not for the Federal Government alone because it deserves support from individuals, groups and stakeholders in order to achieve the maximum success.”
The minister urged the need to always promote understanding, eschew political differences and hatred among people as well as refrain from actions that jeopardise public peace such as terrorism and kidnappings for ransom.
He, however, assured not to condone any misinformation, circulation of fake and unsubstantiated reports against the military efforts.
“We are aware that some people constitute a nuisance, spreading unverified news on banditry and other criminalities which directly or indirectly aided the criminalities.
“This would surely be responded to as we expect citizens to support government struggles at all times.
“Northern region needs proactive and collaborative support from all categories of people in order to overcome the security challenges that bedevilled the area and retarded its economic and social developments”, he said.
Tunde Omolehin is an award-winning Journalist with prose in investigative and storytelling that is connecting the dots between the under-reported communities and policymakers to ensure good governance and accountability.
