It Is Deceitful To Think Bandits Will Embrace Dialogue - Governor El-Rufai

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state has explained why banditry has continued in the North West region of tNigeria.

Speaking in an interview on BBC Hausa on Monday, February 8 following the killing of 18 people by suspected bandits in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Saturday, February 6, El-Rufai said it's been difficult to tackle banditry in the region because every state is fighting it in its own way.

The Kaduna State Governor stated that it will be difficult to succeed in the fight against banditry if states in the region don't come together to ask the federal government to provide them with soldiers and police to enter the bush and kill all the bandits".

Also speaking against granting amnesty to the bandits, El-Rufai added that it will be deceitful to think that someone who is counting millions as gains from ransom will embrace dialogue and return to his previous lifestyle where he saw little money occasionally.

He said: “As a result, every state is fighting in its own way. If we cannot come together for the federal government to provide us with soldiers and police to enter the bush and kill all the bandits, it will be difficult to succeed in the fight against banditry.

“There is no synergy among the governors in the northwest on how to end the banditry. But Kaduna is collaborating with Niger State on modalities to end the killings by the gunmen.

“State like Zamfara adopted a policy of dialogue with the gunmen, giving them amnesty, which I don’t believe in. With this, we have differences on how to tackle the situation.

“We sat together with the governors in Katsina but we disagreed on how to tackle the criminality. Some believed in dialogue while others didn’t.

“It is deceitful to believe that a person who is now counting millions as gains from ransom will embrace dialogue and return to his previous lifestyle where he saw little money occasionally."

Joy Kalu/Nigeria