A simultaneous military operation is needed in the Northwest and Niger State, Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai said yesterday.
He believes such an operation would secure the ungoverned spaces of Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Plateau and Niger and tackle banditry.
The governor spoke in Zaria when the Emir of Zazzau, Ahmad Nuhu Bamalli, paid him the traditional Hawan Bariki visit.
El-Rufai noted that criminal elements were being assisted by a network of informants.
He urged traditional institutions to mobilise their networks to expose them and support the security forces with local intelligence.
The governor said: “My first official action as governor was to summon an emergency security meeting on May 30, 2015, to identify the security threats across the state and find answers to them.
“One outcome of that meeting was the decision to collaborate with the governors of the other states in the Northwest and Niger State to fund a joint military operation to clear the Kamuku-Kuyambana forest swathes in the Birnin Gwari axis of cattle rustlers hibernating in the ranges that cover Niger, Kaduna, Katsina and Zamfara States.
(THE NATION)
