Governor Dikko Umaru Radda of Katsina State has given up on the possibility of solving insecurity in the state suggesting that the only way to confront the challenges is to allow the people to buy weapons for protection.
According to him, the 36 governors in the country despite being the chief security officers of their states are handicapped because they lacked the constitutional authority to command the army, navy or the police to take drastic actions when the need arises.
On efforts of his administration to curb insecurity in the state, Governor Rada at a media chat on Friday in Abuja noted that some traditional rulers who are allegedly collabborating with the bandits are already on the watchlist. He said no one will be spared.
Governor Radda, who asked the federal government to play a more critical role in the security of lives and property in the country, said his administration had legally established a ‘community watch corps’ to deal with banditry in conjunction with the military.
Governor Rada inherited overwhelming security challenges in the state when he assumed office on May 29. The state since the October 30, 2022 mass abduction of 21 children from a farm at Kamfanin Mai Lafiya village in Faskari LGA of Katsina have not been able to find a lasting solution to the menace as bandits frequently abduct innocent citizens for ransom.
Given the rate of insecurity in the state and the northwest in general, the governor noted that the state is trying its possible best to curtail the menace first by gathering intelligence from the Department of State Services (DSS) and the state owned intelligence unit within the Katsina Community Watch Corps.
He said, “We governors are so-called chief security officers of our states but we don’t have the authority to command the military, police or civil defence. They receive orders from above.
“In our efforts, we have come up with the intelligence unit within the Katsina Community Watch Corps. This intelligence unit, even the corps members don’t know them. The reason for setting it up is to check the excesses of the Watch Corps and also to gather information.
“There are some traditional rulers who are identified and those ones are already under scrutiny. So, we are not sparing anybody, even commissioners in my regime.
“We are not going to spare anybody found to be involved in one criminal activity or the other.
“We are talking about the lives of over 10 million people, not one single individual. No single individual is more important than 10 million people or the lives of an innocent person in the village. We are trying as much as possible to gather a lot of information together with the intelligence we are getting from the DSS so that we can build a network that we can arrest and prosecute any person found wanting.
“It is a double-edged sword. We cannot fold our arms and say we will not protect ourselves because we don’t have the sophisticated arms that these bandits have. We have the numbers, we have the zeal and the determination, and you should remember, if they are going for any outing, it is just like the way it was done in Borno through the Civilian JTF.
“They will be covered by the police and the military who are heavily armed. So, I think it is a concerted and joint effort. And I think gradually, we are working within what the law allows us to possess.
“We are driving towards that and we are seeking reforms within the federal government in that regard. If a bandit can go to the market and buy AK-47, RPG, and all of those weapons, what of the people that want to protect themselves?
“They too should equally be allowed to do so. These people are holding it illegally, we are trying to hold it legally. Why can’t the government allow the people to hold this thing and equally confront the challenges?
“Negotiations with bandits is a no-go -area in my perspective but I said if I am at the point of advantage, if the bandits come out and say look, ‘we are dropping arms, let us sit down and talk’, we could reintegrate them back into the society.
“But I will not go begging bandits to come for negotiations. Let us deal with the situation. If they are weak, let them come out, let us negotiate and we will reintegrate them back into society. They are our people, our brothers, but we cannot protect a criminal.”
