Governor Dikko Umaru Radda of Katsina State has approved N7,813,423,560.83 for the procurement of modern security equipment, for security agencies operating in the State.
The Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Dr. Nasiru Mu’azu Danmusa , disclosed this after an Executive Council meeting at the Katsina Government House, on Wednesday.
According to the Governor’s spokesperson, Ibrahim Kaula Mohammed, the meeting was presided over by Governor Radda.
According to Dr. Danmusa, N4,852,613,400 of the amount would be used to purchase security vehicles for patrols.
The Commissioner said N2,697,484,036.33 has been earmarked for procuring hi-tech security equipment, while N353,316,424.50 would be used to purchase some other security gadgets.
He recalled that apart from the N640 million earlier approved for the procurement of security equipment for the Community Security Watch Corps last council, another N320 million was also approved by the Executive Council.
In another development, the Katsina State Government has adopted a new approach in dealing with the banditry menace, plaguing the State.
Governor Radda revealed this, when he received the Management Team of Media Trust Limited in his office in Katsina, on Wednesday.
The Governor said a more proactive approach has been adopted by his administration, adding that the state government would no longer wait until there were attacks, and that they would now be attacking the bandits and other criminals’ hideouts.
The governor’s spokesperson quoted his principal as saying “In the area of security, we are doing as much as possible to bring about some innovations in the security architecture of the state that will help us to mitigate the activities of the bandits and other criminals and also to help us build and rehabilitate those people that are devastated, the victims of criminalities.
“To achieve that, we have created the office of the special assistant to the governor on IDPs and other victims of criminality in the state.
“Our approach this time around is not trying to be defensive but to also be proactive and attacking. Because we would not sit down and allow these idiots to come and kill our people. Since they are chasing us, we will chase back as well, so that we will get our state out of this situation”.
Mal. Radda added that his administration had designed some operations “to weed out the Kauraye (miscreants) that are disturbing a lot of people in the state capital.”
According to the governor, meaningful results could only be achieved with a robust synergy and simultaneous operations with neighbouring states because if one state was doing and others were not, the criminals would always have where to go, regroup and renew their offensive.
