Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda has disclosed that his government had identified some traditional rulers as sponsors of banditry in the state.
The governor who revealed this at a press conference held on Friday in Abuja, vowed to deal decisively with any traditional or member of his cabinet found sponsoring or aiding bandits.
“As I speak to you, there are some traditional rulers that have been identified and those ones are already under scrutiny. We are not sparing anybody. I’m telling you that even my commissioners or anybody found to be involved in any criminal activity won’t be spared.
“We are talking about the lives of Katsina people, not one individual. No single individual is more important than 10 million people, especially innocent persons in the village. We are trying as much as possible to see how we can gather a lot of information, together with the intelligence we are getting from the DSS so we can arrest and prosecute those found wanting.
“Since I became governor, there is no single day I don’t receive a report of kidnapping or people being killed and all sorts. This has been disturbing me. Sometimes it is difficult to open my phone because I know what I would be confronted with”, he said.
While explaining the reason for establishing its own security outfit, the Community Watch Corps, the governor said the state was in talks with the federal government for possible reforms that would allow citizens, especially members of the state security agencies to acquire sophisticated weapons like AK 47 for self-defense.
According to him, the fight against insurgency is a hydra-headed monster that has refused to go away, which is why the state set up the Community Watch Corps to complement efforts of conventional security agencies in the fight against banditry.
