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I know where every bandit leader is in Zamfara – Gov Lawal
Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State has stated that, if granted direct authority over security forces, he can eliminate banditry in the state within a two-month period.
In a widely circulated video released on Wednesday, the governor became emotional while describing recent violent attacks.
He identified the main challenge in resolving the security crisis as the fact that security personnel in Zamfara currently take orders from the federal government in Abuja rather than the state administration.
Lawal emphasized that his intimate knowledge of the local geography and the locations of criminal leaders would enable him to quickly dismantle the bandit networks if he were empowered to command security agencies.
He stated, “I know the exact locations of every bandit leader in Zamfara, even from my phone. I can show you where they are right now. However, I do not have control over the security forces, and that is the core issue.”
READ ALSO: How victims paid ransom through Defence Minister – Zamfara governor
The governor referenced a recent massacre in Shinkafi Local Government Area where many lives were lost, explaining that security operatives on site refused to intervene because they were awaiting directives from Abuja.
“People were under attack, and despite my repeated calls to security agencies, they said they were waiting for orders from Abuja. How can I protect my people under such circumstances?” he expressed with frustration.
Despite these limitations, Lawal highlighted that his government has continued to provide logistical support and funding to security personnel. He revealed that 150 patrol vehicles have been distributed among the police, military, Department of State Services, and civil defence units. Additionally, thousands of Community Protection Guards and over 2,000 hunters from Borno and Yobe States have been recruited to assist in combating the bandits.
He also stressed the importance of tackling the underlying causes of rural violence, noting efforts to improve access to water, education, and other essential services, which he believes will foster peace.
The governor accused political rivals of exploiting the insecurity for personal gain, warning that such actions are detrimental to the wellbeing of Zamfara’s citizens.
“The politicization of insecurity does not harm me personally; it is the people of Zamfara who suffer. Some individuals do not want us to succeed, but I will persist,” he declared.
Lawal pointed to the heavy security presence during a recent by-election in the state as evidence that resources are available but are being prioritized for political events rather than protecting lives.
While Boko Haram and its offshoot ISWAP have terrorized Nigeria’s North-East for over ten years—resulting in more than 35,000 deaths and displacing over two million people—the North-West faces a distinct but equally severe security challenge.
In states like Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, and Sokoto, armed groups originally involved in cattle rustling have evolved into heavily armed gangs conducting mass kidnappings and raids on rural communities.
Zamfara has been particularly hard hit, with widespread abductions, killings, and attacks forcing many residents to flee their homes and farmers to abandon their fields.
Notably, in February 2021, approximately 300 schoolgirls were abducted in Jangebe, Zamfara, and in December 2020, over 300 schoolboys were kidnapped in neighboring Katsina. These incidents drew international attention to Nigeria’s escalating insecurity.
Governor Lawal’s plea coincides with ongoing discussions by President Bola Tinubu and the National Economic Council regarding the creation of state police forces—a reform long advocated by governors in states plagued by violence.
His statements reflect the frustration of state leaders who face increasing demands from their citizens but lack control over security operations.
For Zamfara’s residents, where villages are being emptied by armed groups and agricultural activities are stalling, the governor’s claim that he could end banditry within two months if empowered offers both hope and highlights the constraints of Nigeria’s centralized security system.
Since taking office in May 2023, Lawal has consistently called for the establishment of state police, echoing President Tinubu’s recent support for the initiative.
Advocates argue that local police forces would allow state governments to directly address their security challenges, while opponents caution against potential political misuse.
The echoes of the drums rolled out to celebrate the rescue of the 44 teachers and students, kidnapped from some schools in Oyo State, after 56 days in the bush, would surely be disrupted abruptly, with the divergent echoes of a fresh abduction, this time coming from Kogi State.
Reports indicate that the gunmen, struck on Tuesday at the Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, in Dekina Local Government Area of the state, abducting four students, the school principal and a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc staff member.
Authorities of the Kogi State Police Command, who immediately unleashed their operatives in hot pursuit of the abductors, said the attack occurred at about 5:25 p.m. while the students were writing their NECO examination.
Saliu Oyiza Afusat, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and spokesman of the command, said a combined team of police personnel and other security agencies has launched a search-and-rescue operation following the incident.
Informing that one of the students was actually rescued immediately, she said efforts were ongoing to secure the release of the remaining victims and apprehend the attackers, adding that Naziru Bello Kankarofi, the state Commissioner of Police, alongside the Brigade Commander and the State Security Adviser to the Governor, Commodore Jerry Omodara (Rtd), were already on the way to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
Oil prices are expected to go down now with the announcement of Donald Trump, US President that he will no longer impose a 20 percent “safe passage” fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The POTUS, hinged his reversal of the decision on the intervention from some Gulf countries, who pleaded with him not to toe the line due to the massive economic impact the decision would make on the region.
Indeed, oil prices had shot up immediately Trump announced the new levy on Monday while declaring the US ‘the guardians of the Hormuz strait,’ a measure which he said was to pay for the cost of guarding the volatile area in order keep supply of oil flowing.
Reports said that Gulf allies of the US worked frantically to get Trump on the phone in time to talk him out of the idea altogether, while a flurry of appeals came from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
In response, the POTUS, posting on his Truth Social platform, wrote: “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
Trump, who said the investments would be “MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” added that the deals would see factories, plants, and equipment pour into the US at “Historic levels.”
The Gulf nations have committed to invest trillions of dollars in the US, though it remains unclear how much of that they will actually spend over the next several years.
Meanwhile, the US continues to bomb Iran in what appears to be a resumption of active conflict between both countries, despite an ongoing roadmap to end the conflict.
Reports say operatives of the Osun State Police Command, and those of the Department of State Services (DSS) had tracking the trail of Adeniyi Adeyemi, controversial Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), for weeks, before he was eventually pulled out of his hole on Tuesday.
However, the duo, were said to have pulled back after failing to track him through his mobile phones, which he had reportedly switched off for about two days, making it difficult to locate him, leaving the stage for the members of the Police Intelligence Response Team (PI-RT) led by Moses Lohor, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).
Lohor, said to have previously served as the Commander of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of Osun State, and reported to have been involved in high-profile security operations and controversies, after taken over fielded his men to pick up signals from their well-oiled signal networks.
Regarded by many Osun residents as one of the key security officers who contributed significantly to the peace and stability enjoyed in Ilesa and other parts of the state during his tenure, he was said to have relied on his contacts before his transfer out of the state, said to have raised concerns from the public about the security situation he would be leaving behind.
His exit from the state was said to be hinged on an incident in 2024, in which he allegedly shot one Iyanda Alowonle, then Chairman of Osun State Motor Transport System, in the stomach at the police station in the state prompting an order for his arrest by then Inspector General of Police (IGP).
His effort was said to have paid off when he successfully tracked down the controversial PFIPC, boss, who was seen on Tuesday evening, in a shot video on social media undergoing interrogation, and eventually handed him over to Ibrahim Gotan, Commissioner of Police in the state.
The PUNCH quoted one of the sources as saying: “The arrest (of Adeyemi) took place on Tuesday morning by the IRT squad, who immediately moved him to Abuja. After he was arrested, he was taken to Ibadan and from there to Abuja.”
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