Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, on Tuesday called on the people in bandits prone areas in the state to acquire weapons and defend themselves against the assailants.
Masari who made the call in a statement by his media aide Abdu Labaran, said it was morally wrong for people to “submit meekly to the bandits without any attempt to defend themselves”, noting that security is everybody’s business.
Katsina state has witnessed rising activities of bandits in resent times that had led to death of many residents of the state.
The governor said it was the people’s meek submission that emboldens the bandits to continue with their heinous activities with murderous frequency, adding that people must divorce their mind from the mistaken notion that security is government’s sole responsibility.
He assured that government was perusing necessary legal steps to seek redress for the families of the people killed by operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service last week in Jibia, as well as those who sustained various degrees of injuries.
He added that legal experts had already been consulted to advise on the way forward to ensure speedy (legal) resolution of the matter.
Masari cautioned the families of the victims not to succumb to any covert enticement from the Nigerian Customs Service, saying that doing so will compromise and jeopardise the government’s efforts to secure justice for the bereaved and injured.
“Whatever they want to do for you, let it be in the open, not in secret…no matter what they offer or promise to do for you,” he said.
“ If you accept any secret offer, then you will be truncating government’s efforts to seek justice for you, but if you resist any untoward move, the organisation will then have to rethink its attitude towards its host community.”
