Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle has secured the release of 26 Katsina girls from bandits.

This was confirmed in a statement issued on Sunday, November 8, by Zailani Bappa, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Enlightenment, Media and Communications, according to The Nation.

He announced that the girls, aged between 8 and 12, who were abducted by bandits in Faskari, were released to the State Government without ransom.

Part of the statement read: “The girls were miraculously discovered by the state Government and got released through negotiations held under the state Commissioner Of Police and the state Commissioner for Security and Home Affairs who are in constant dialogue with bandits in the state on behalf of the government in order to embrace peace and live a normal life.

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Governor Matawalle, receiving the rescued girls, said his administration would continue to have a peaceful dialogue with bandits as firepower alone cannot solve the problem of banditry in the state.

It was learnt that the girls who were kidnapped by bandits in the Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State were brought into the bushes of Zamfara State but were discovered by the government and released through negotiations by the Commissioner for Security and Home Affairs Abubakar Dauran who is in constant dialogue on behalf of the state with bandits on the need to embrace peace and live a normal life.

The 26 rescued girls were medically checked before the Governor ordered for their safe return to Katsina state.