Zamfara government strikes peace deal with repentant bandits
- The Zamfara state government has continued with its amnesty programme to bandits
- Governor Bello Matawalle explains how negotiations are leading to peace efforts in Zamfara
- Several northern states have been experiencing attacks from bandits
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Three bandits who have resolved to stop criminal activities have reportedly surrendered the AK-47 rifles they previously used in committing crimes to the Zamfara state government.
Channels TV reported that the former bandits swore by the Holy Qur'an not to return to carrying out banditry activities again.
Source: Twitter
The arms surrendering ceremony reportedly took place at the government house in Gusau on Monday, February 22.
The Zamfara state governor, Bello Matawalle, said the dialogue with bandits is necessary for peace to reign in the state.
He said:
“We thank God for making us witness another day of success. When we started this dialoguing with these people, we have been getting so many attacks from all angles because people do not understand what it means.
“The government is doing everything possible to mop-up all the weapons belonging to them, to bring it to the proper authority.”
Meanwhile, in what will continue to amaze many Nigerians, Ahmad Gumi, a prominent Islamic cleric, has described bandits as militants who are fighting “an ethnic war".
He made his points while speaking during a Channels TV programme on Monday, February 22.
According to him, bandits are not interested in killing people. In fact, the Islamic scholar said the criminals had only killed a few people.
He also claimed that the federal government knows the hideout of the killer-herdsmen and bandits involved in killings, kidnappings and other criminal activities across the country
Gumi said security forces have not moved to dislodge the terrorists because the government is playing safe after realising its former approach of attacking the bandits frontally has not yielded positive results.
In another news, one of the victims kidnapped by bandits in Niger, Hajia Jummai Isah, has revealed that there are over 1,000 criminals of the armed men living in thick forests in the state.
Isah made the revelation while speaking to Daily Trust on her ordeal in the hands of the criminal gangs.
She was part of the 53 persons kidnapped from a Niger State Transport Authority (NSTA) bus recently by the bandits.
Kess Ewubare is a senior political/current affairs correspondent at Legit.ng. He has both a BSc and a Master’s degree in mass communication. He has over 10 years of experience in working in several fields of mass communication including radio, TV, newspaper, and online. For Kess, journalism is more than a career, it is a beautiful way of life.
Source: Legit.ng
