Matawalle Declares War On Bandits, Vows Not To Grant Them Amnesty In Zamfara

Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle has declared war on bandits, saying that the state government is no longer interested in dialoguing with them.

The governor, who stated this while addressing a congregation in Gusau on Saturday, said bandits have rejected the peace extended to them, vowing that security forces would flush them (bandits) out of the state.

“My administration will no longer grant amnesty to bandits as they have failed to embrace the peace initiative earlier extended to them,’’ Matawalle said.

He urged residents to be patient and to support new security measures put in place to flush out bandits and their collaborators to restore peace in the state.

The governor said the barrage of attacks on bandits by security forces had made them to make a fresh overture to the government seeking dialogue.

He said the bandits’ emissaries informed him that they had repented and would want to dialogue with the government for amnesty.

He noted that some of the bandits were running out of Zamfara to other states as a result of the new security measures introduced by the state government.

Mr Matawalle warned politicians against giving any form of support to bandits, stressing that: “politicians should fear God and stop buying motorcycles to distribute to people who, in turn, sell to bandits to perpetuate their evil acts.’’

The governor said also that Zamfara government would prosecute any politician caught in the act.

KanyiDaily recalls that Telecommunication services have been shut down for two weeks in Zamfara in order to help security operatives curb banditry ravaging the state.