About 3,000 lives have been lost to banditry in Zamfara State, Secretary to the State Government Prof. Abdullahi Shinkafi said yesterday.
According to him, the government has spent N17 billion in the last seven years to fight the menace.
The money was spent from 2011 till date to procure vehicles for security agencies, pay allowances of security operatives, provide accommodation for soldiers of the 232 Battalion and other logistics.
Shinkafi added that over 2,000 homes have been destroyed, 500 cars burnt and over 500 persons kidnapped.
Prof. Shinkafi spoke yesterday in Gusau, at a town hall meeting organised by the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), to find solution to the worsening insecurity in the state.
He said: “When you hear N17 billion, it sounds huge, but when you break it down to the various components, you will see it is not even enough.
“In 2011, we provided 457 vehicles for security agencies; 2,250 in 2012; 77 in 2014 and 50 each in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
“We also had to give money to victims to alleviate their suffering.”
The secretary attributed banditry to shortage of manpower, stressing the need for more indigenes to join the security services to protect the state.
National President of NBA Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) wondered why the Federal Government will allow the state to spend so much on security.
He argued that the money would have been used to build infrastructure and grow the economy, saying security operations should be funded by the Federal Government and not states.
According to him, providing funds without being present to monitor how the funds are spent cannot yield the desired results.
The president said their visit was not a political move, but to promote peace, resolve the conflict and uphold the Constitution.
The Nigeria Air Force (NAF) has said its Air Task Force in Operation Diran Mikiya has degraded several bandits’ hideouts in Shamashale village and Rugu forest.
A statement yesterday by the Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, said the bandits used some makeshift settlements in Rugu as bases for their operations.
He explained that the attack on Shamashale was conducted on August 15 following further confirmatory Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions that showed the presence of bandits there.
The statement reads: “The attacks, which were executed in support of ground troops in Sector 2 of Operation Sharan Daji, were planned based on credible intelligence that the bandits were using an abandoned primary school in Shamashale.
“Accordingly, the ATF dispatched two combat helicopters to attack the location. And int the attack, some bandits carrying sophisticated high calibre weapons were seen trying to flee. Some were on motorcycles carrying AK-47 rifles and rather than dropping their weapons and surrendering, attempted to shoot at the helicopters; hence they were neutralised.
“Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) conducted on August 16 confirmed that the kingpin’s main hideout had been severely degraded and human intelligence sources later showed pictures of some of the slain bandits.
“The adjoining settlement camps within Rugu Forest, which had earlier been confirmed to be inhabited by only bandits, were attacked on August 18.
“A ground attack aircraft and two combat helicopters struck the camps in successive waves; first targeting the shelters and then executing follow-on attacks to ensure the threat posed to the local villagers was adequately dealt with.
“The ATF would continue to dominate the area through armed reconnaissance and air interdiction missions to completely decimate the bandits to ensure a return to normalcy in Zamfara and other states in the Northewest.
“Items recovered from the bandits include two General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMGs); two AK-47 rifles; 100 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and two mobile phones.”
