Banditry: Masari Takes Peace Engagement To Niger Republic
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In his continued quest for a lasting end to the oft recurring deadly banditry that has turned some parts of Katsina State into a slaughter house of sorts, Governor Aminu Bello Masari has engaged his counterpart in the Prefecture of Maradi, in the neighbouring Niger Republic, Alhaji Zakari Umaru.
Governor Masari, whose delegation included Secretary to the Government of the state, Dr. Mustafa Mohammed Inuwa, led three fellow Nigerian Governors in the persons of Muhammadu Bello Matawallin Maradu, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and Senator Atiku Bagudu of Zamfara, Sokoto and Kebbi states, respectively.
At the meeting issues of cross border banditry and other forms of criminality were addressed.
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This is coming in tandem with Masari’s ongoing reconciliation overtures with ‘commanders’ of the various disparate camps of the bandits who have turned eight of the 34 local government areas in the state their regular deadly assault targets. These assaults often result in multiple deaths and destruction of properties running into millions in worth.
These target local government areas are Dandume, Sabuwa, Faskari, Kankara, Danmusa, Safana, Batsari and Jibiya, all contagious to expansively famous Rugu forest.
Buoyed by the obvious success of the ongoing rapprochement with the local bandits, Governor Masari expressed confidence that the Maradi security talks would be no less successful, reinforcing the huge stride made in that respect in Katsina State.
The Prefecture of Maradi, which provides the window through which smuggled arms, ammunition, foreign insurgents and bandits often sneak into Nigeria, is border to the four North West states of Nigeria.