Zamfara State Governor Bello Mohammed has said he has no regrets negotiating with bandits in the state.
The governor said his administration is worried by the current wave of attacks on innocent communities in the state, just as he said he “has no regret entering into dialogue with the bandits in the state which is now halted by the federal government.”
A statement by Zailani Bappa, Special Adviser on Public Enlightenment, Media and Communications, said the governor disclosed this in a statewide broadcast.
The governor said the current wave of attacks across the state needs to be tackled head-on with the combined efforts of all the security operatives in the state.
He said that his administration would continue to support every genuine effort at ending the security breach mounting in the state.
He recalled that, in spite of condemnation from certain quarters on his peace process with the bandits, “nobody denied the relative peace enjoyed when it held sway until those who were not happy with it sabotaged it leading to its suspension by the federal government.”
He said the process was still potent and could have led to genuine peace accord as recorded elsewhere in the history of major conflicts such as this across the globe.
Meanwhile, the governor commended the Federal Government and the security operatives in the country for their commitment to the fight against banditry in the state, but said extra effort is required to contain the growing security problems mounting by the day.
He disclosed this when he received the newly posted Assistant Inspector General of Police in-charge of Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states, AIG Ali Aji Janga, in his office on Wednesday.
Matawalle told the visiting AIG that the current wave of insecurity necessitates the need to declare a state of emergency in security in the country.
He said no one feels safe anymore and that the only way to return the country to the path of sanity is to act out of the box.
He said the problem in Zamfara is unique from those in other places and therefore requires very careful and constructive solutions to control it.
In his response, AIG Janga, who was accompanied by the State Commissioner of Police, CP Ayuba Elkahana, commended Matawalle for his commitment in finding a lasting solution to the security problem in the state.
