By Gambo Jagindi
December 22, 2020
Banditry created to scare investors away, Zamfara State capable of feeding the nation- Gov. Matawalle
Gov. Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State has alleged that Banditry was created in the state to scare away investors because of the solid mineral capable of feeding the nation
Matawalle made the statement at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja.
The governor was reacting to a statements credited to Acting National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Yekini Nabena, who alleged that he was harboring, sponsoring and aiding banditry in the North Western Nigeria.
He said that the allegations are so weighty that cannot be swept under a carpet especially when it concerns human lives, humanity and dignity
He emphasised that since he assumed duty as the governor of Zamfara State his priority was how to secure the state from its immediate past position of being the most dangerous to visit or leave” due to waves of attacks, killing, maiming, kidnappings, cattle rustling and vandalization of public property and assets that bedeviled the state which had consumed over 7000 lives.
He added that almost a million cattle and related animals rustled by bandits, property and farm produce worth billions of naira belonging to innocent citizens were either destroyed or carted away by criminals.
Matawalle revealed that his administration had rescued more than 2000 kidnapped victims, collected over a thousand weapons from May 29, 2019 when he took over the leadership of the state from both the bandits and members of vigilante operating in the state
” My efforts in the ongoing peace process have yielded positive results and brought a lot of relief to the people of Zamfara State and indeed the entire north western Nigeria,” Matawalle said.
The governor noted that the basic function of government anywhere was to provide security and safety of lives of the governed as he swore to protect.
He earlier withdrew intention to take the matter to court due to intervention of highly respected organization and individuals and the nod received from Nigeria Governors Forum and the Progressive Governors Forum certifying his efforts in tackling banditry in the region.