Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El Rufai has called on the Federal Government to declare bandits as terrorists.
The governor has equally called for the recruitment of 774,000 youths into the security agencies to help restore security in the country.
Gov. El rufai made the calls at the presentation of the Kaduna State Security Incidents report for the third quarter of 2021, held at Sir Ibrahim Kashim House on Wednesday.
He said the recruitment of youths into the agencies was necessary to keep in step with the pace of securing the nation.
He further said the state government had recognized the shortage of security personnel to tackle the rising insecurity in the country and feels there was a need for a consensus between the federal government and the 36 states on an emergency programme of recruitment into the security agencies to fill up this gap.
” Government can change the game significantly by hiring 1,000 willing youths from each of the 774,000 LGAs in the country into the security agencies”.
“This will be a surge in numbers that is unprecedented since the civil war. An influx of 774,000 new boots on the ground will be a significant blow against criminals and an employment boost”, he stated.
Speaking further, the governor said the declaration of bandits as terrorist would enable the military to attack and kill them without any major consequences in international law.
” We in the Kaduna state government have always aligned with the declaration of bandits as insurgents and terrorists. We have written letters to the federal government since 2017, asking for this declaration because it is the declaration that will allow the Nigerian military to attack and kill these bandits without any major consequences in international law. So, we support the resolution by the National Assembly and we are going to follow up with a letter of support, for the federal government to declare these bandits and insurgents as terrorists, so that they will be fair game for our military. This is the view of the Kaduna State Government”, he said.
