Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State has explained that the war against armed bandits that have been terrorising parts of the state in the recent times, has been made difficult because of the existence of some fifth columnists in the state who give information to the hoodlums.
“We have people among us who give Information to benefit about the plans by the government to dislodge the bandits from their hideouts.
The Niger State gov stated this on Monday, at a press briefing held at the Government House, Minna, which was attended by the Heads of the Security Organizations in the state, adding that the informants were using the ongoing crisis in the state for political gains, saying, ” now, we will restrategize to ensure that we make life more meaningful for our people”.
The Governor, apparently annoyed about the unfortunate situation, declared that “even in this hall (government house conference hall) I mean even among us here we have people who are giving information to the bandits”
Sani Bello stated this while addressing newsmen on the security situation in the state following weeks of a violent invasion of some communities by bandits in Shiroro, Rafi and Munya Local Government Areas of the state.
The Governor said the informants use the social media to pass information to the bandits, stressing that the plan by government and the security agencies to employ the services of men of the vigilante to assist the police and Soldiers and plan to deploy aircrafts to dislodge the bandits was posted on the social media even before the plan was hatched.
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He added that the ” informants ” have only succeeded in ” exposing the communities to more danger”.
The action of the subversive elements, according to the Governor, has made the fight more difficult because ” the bandits must have gone underground
“These bandits are so sophisticated and have informants everywhere, they move from place to place depending on the information they get”, he declared.
Bello identified Shiroro, Paikoro, Munya, Rafi, Mariga and ” of recent Mashegu local government areas of the state as areas where insurgents have been holding sway in the state”.
He said, “the time has come for us all to come together and support our security forces in the fight against insurgency if we want to tackle this issue successfully all hands must be on the deck”.
Bello stated further that apart from the five local governments ” other parts of the state were relatively peaceful”.
He, however, promised that the Internally Displaced People( IDPs) will be supported to ensure they live normal lives and return to their communities “as soon as possible”.
The Niger Governor said his administration will support the Community Policing policy of the Inspector General of Police because ” we believe it is one of the best ways to curb crime and criminality”
The Governor also expressed appreciation to the federal government for intervening in the problem, while assuring that his administration would give the needed support to the security personnel deployed to ensure they succeed.
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