Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal has stated that if given direct authority of security services, he can eradicate banditry in the state in two months.
The governor, who sobbed as he described the recent attacks in a video that went viral on Wednesday, claimed that the main barrier to resolving the situation is that Zamfara security personnel continue to receive orders from Abuja rather than the state government.
If he had the authority, Lawal said, he could quickly put an end to the threat because he knew the area and where the criminal leaders were.
“I can tell you the whereabouts of every bandit kingpin in Zamfara, even with my phone. I can point to you where they are right now. But I do not control security agencies, and that is the problem,” he lamented.
He mentioned the recent killing of dozens of people in Shinkafi Local Government and claimed that the security personnel there would not move because they did not have permission from Abuja.
“People were under attack, and I kept calling the security agencies. They told me they were waiting for orders from Abuja. How do I save my people in such a situation?” the governor added in frustration.
Lawal pointed out that his administration has kept providing funds and logistical support to security personnel in spite of the limitations.
Thousands of Community Protection Guards and more than 2,000 hunters from Borno and Yobe States had been enlisted to join the battle, he claimed, and 150 patrol cars had been given to the police, military, Department of State Services, and civil defence.
He also emphasised how important it is to deal with the underlying causes of violence in rural areas.
“We are working to provide water, schools and other amenities because we know that when people live well, peace is easier to achieve,” he explained.
Lawal also cited the state’s recent by-election, which saw a significant security deployment, as evidence that resources are available but are being used more for political purposes than for life safety.
The North-West has experienced a distinct but no less terrible wave of violence than the North-East, where Boko Haram and its breakaway organisation, ISWAP, have terrorised the region for more than ten years, killing over 35,000 people and uprooting over two million.
Armed organisations that started out as cattle rustlers in Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, and Sokoto have developed into highly armed networks that conduct mass kidnappings and raids on rural areas.
In the North-West, Zamfara has been one of the most severely affected states by banditry, with armed gangs committing major kidnappings, murders, and attacks on rural communities. In addition to farmers abandoning their fields out of fear of attacks, many inhabitants have been forced to leave their villages.
Over 300 schoolboys were kidnapped in nearby Katsina in December 2020, while approximately 300 schoolgirls were abducted from Jangebe in Zamfara in February 2021. Nigeria’s growing insecurity was brought to the attention of the world by both instances.
Lawal’s protest coincides with President Bola Tinubu and the National Economic Council debating the creation of state police, a change that governors in violent states have long called for.
His comments highlight the annoyance of state authorities who are under increasing public pressure but have no control over the security forces.
The governor’s assertion that he could put an end to banditry in two months if given the authority is both a ray of optimism and a reminder of the shortcomings of Nigeria’s centralised security system for the people of Zamfara, whose communities are being pillaged by gunmen and farming is coming to a standstill.
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