By Ken Afor
The Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umar Radda, has given reasons why the state government has not been able to bring an end to banditry.
Governor Radda, who was on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, said it has become difficult to eradicate banditry, particularly in the northern part of the country, because it has turned into a business venture. He accused some security personnel and government officials of aiding banditry in the region.
He said: “Now it has turned out to be a business venture. A business venture for the criminals, some people who are in government; and some people who are in security outfits, and some people who are responsible for the day-to-day activities of their people. These are so many reasons why we are not unable to bring banditry to an end.”
It would be recalled that Katsina, the state where the immediate past president, Muhammadu Buhari, hails from, has witnessed a surge in attacks and abductions by armed bandits in recent months. In February 2024, an attack reportedly occurred at Kurechin Giye village in Makera Ward, Dutsinma Local Government Area of the state, resulting in the abduction of 13 individuals, including 12 married women and one man. Eyewitnesses recounted that the assailants also looted residents’ belongings worth several millions of naira during the raid.
In March, a group of suspected bandits reportedly abducted at least 55 individuals who were wedding guests accompanying a bride to her hometown near Damari town in Sabuwa Local Government Area of Katsina State. The armed assailants targeted and seized the wedding guests as they traveled through the area with the newly married bride.
While many attribute the insecurity to politics, Governor Radda, who was sworn in May 29, 2023 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), stated that poverty and injustice are major drivers of the situation.
”The issue of the hypothesis behind political motive as responsible for banditry is not true,” the Katsina State governor said.
Radda, 54, claimed that youths are being lured into joining bandit groups with a meager financial incentive of just N500.
In addressing the security challenges in the region, some governors from northern Nigeria embarked on a visit to the United States. Despite facing criticism for holding the meeting abroad instead of in Nigeria, Radda clarified that they were merely invited to participate in the discussions.
“The meeting was not at the instance of the selected governors of northern states but it was at the instance of the United States Institute of Peace. They were the people who invited us; they hosted us for the meeting. We were invited to sit with them so that we could bring about lasting solutions to the problems that are affecting our people,” he said.
Radda, who was the Chief of Staff to his predecessor, Aminu Bello Masari, the immediate past Governor of Katsina State in 2015, highlighted that the trip provided the governors with valuable new perspectives on the security challenges within the region.
“Ten governors were in the United States, Washington D.C and we had a symposium with the United States Institute of Peace so that we can bring about ideas that will end insecurity that is worrying our people and is a major problem to the subnationals and they carefully chose the governors of the places affected by banditry and kidnapping,” he said.
“All of us sat for three days and we were able to cross-fertilise ideas and interact with all stakeholders that are involved in bringing about lasting peace and security globally,” the Katsina governor said.
