Why we're negotiating with bandits: Northern governor discloses, says "it's not a failure"
- Bello Matawalle has received some repentant criminals and bandits with their weapons
- The Zamfara governor said it is not a sign of failure that the government initiates dialogues with bandits
- Matawalle's position trailed the abduction of schoolboys in Kagara, a development that has again crossed the government's path with that of bandits
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Bello Matawalle, governor of Zamfara state, said the government's continued negotiation with bandits for the release of the abducted victims is not a sign of weakness and failure.
The governor made this known on Monday, February 22, when he received some repentant bandits who came to surrender their weapons at the state government house in Gusau, Zamfara capital.
Matawalle further posited that when it comes to the issue of insecurity, "nowhere in the world is succeeding" without negotiation with the criminals.
Source: UGC
According to him, the submission of weapons by the bandits is an indication of a huge success being recorded by the government in the fight against banditry and kidnapping, Channels TV reports.
He said:
“It is not a failure or thing of failure for someone to initiate dialogue. Nowhere in the world is succeeding without coming to the table to sit down and negotiate.
“Just for today, the weapons we have here show and indicate the successes we have recorded because leaving this kind of dangerous weapons in the bush can create a lot of havoc.
“By bringing them to the security agencies, we have reduced their capacity and capability."
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that hours after the abduction of Kagara students of Government Science College in Niger, one of the state's senators Sani Musa (Niger East) said the abductors were terrorists, not bandits as popularly assumed.
Speaking on Wednesday, February 17, Musa likened the unfortunate abduction to that of Chibok (Borno), Dapchi (Yobe) and Kankara (Katsina).
Musa warned that the efforts against the activities of bandits and terrorists must be intensified by the government because nobody knows which schools will be attacked next.
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Rahaman Abiola is a result-oriented journalist and content writer with a firm grip of over 5-year corporate experience stranding diverse roles in digital & traditional media and social media communication.
A published literary writer, freelancer and public commentator, he has written over 100 essays covering diverse issues on economy, politics and current affairs, entertainment and leadership published in virtually all notable Nigerian national dailies and digital media in Nigeria.
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Source: Legit.ng
