Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state, says his colleagues
are in agreement that bandits must be completely “wiped out”.
![image](/2021/04/NEMBE-LAWYERS.jpg")
El-Rufai said security agencies must eliminate anyone found in
the hideouts of bandits, adding that no inhabitant of forests is
innocent.
![image](/2021/01/payne-alex.jpg")
He made the comment while speaking at an event tagged Financing
Safe School on Tuesday in Abuja.
Although some northern governors, particularly Bello Matawalle
of Zamfara, have advocated for dialogue with bandits, el-Rufai
insists that they are all on the same page on “killing them
all”.
The governor said: “Our position as governors and we are
unanimous in this because we, the northern states’ governors, met
with the president on this subject. Our unanimous position is to
wipe out the bandits. We must go into these forests, nobody living
in that forest is innocent, and just kill them all. It is the only
way to end this.”
“We need the combination of air power, and we need troops on the
ground augmented by local expertise and knowledge. We need just
one, two, three months operation to just try to kill all the
bandits. It’s the only way to stop this. So long as these bandits
are being paid, it’ll remain a business. So the only option that we
have is to ensure that we kill them all.”
The Kaduna governor said there’s been a decline in the operation
of bandits across the northern part of the country.
He said the reduction in banditry is due to the efforts of the
Nigerian air force.
“I’m very happy that the chief of air staff has been bombing
them. So you’ll see there’s a decline in banditry. What you see is
the coordinated action with air power, use of drones,” el-Rufai
said.
He, however, noted that more advanced weapons must be acquired
for the security agencies in order to make their operations more
efficient.
“I think the security agencies also need more advanced
technology. The Air force needs more drones. Drones are much
cheaper than planes and there are drones now that can carry
missiles,” the governor said.
“Because they [the bandits] know when they hear the sound of the
aircraft and hide in the bushes. But drones can be more targeted,
more selective and quiet. And drones can also fly in circumstances
that airplanes cannot due to bad weather.”
Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state, says his colleagues
are in agreement that bandits must be completely “wiped out”.
El-Rufai said security agencies must eliminate anyone found in
the hideouts of bandits, adding that no inhabitant of forests is
innocent.
He made the comment while speaking at an event tagged Financing
Safe School on Tuesday in Abuja.
Although some northern governors, particularly Bello Matawalle
of Zamfara, have advocated for dialogue with bandits, el-Rufai
insists that they are all on the same page on “killing them
all”.
The governor said: “Our position as governors and we are
unanimous in this because we, the northern states’ governors, met
with the president on this subject. Our unanimous position is to
wipe out the bandits. We must go into these forests, nobody living
in that forest is innocent, and just kill them all. It is the only
way to end this.”
“We need the combination of air power, and we need troops on the
ground augmented by local expertise and knowledge. We need just
one, two, three months operation to just try to kill all the
bandits. It’s the only way to stop this. So long as these bandits
are being paid, it’ll remain a business. So the only option that we
have is to ensure that we kill them all.”
The Kaduna governor said there’s been a decline in the operation
of bandits across the northern part of the country.
He said the reduction in banditry is due to the efforts of the
Nigerian air force.
“I’m very happy that the chief of air staff has been bombing
them. So you’ll see there’s a decline in banditry. What you see is
the coordinated action with air power, use of drones,” el-Rufai
said.
He, however, noted that more advanced weapons must be acquired
for the security agencies in order to make their operations more
efficient.
“I think the security agencies also need more advanced
technology. The Air force needs more drones. Drones are much
cheaper than planes and there are drones now that can carry
missiles,” the governor said.
“Because they [the bandits] know when they hear the sound of the
aircraft and hide in the bushes. But drones can be more targeted,
more selective and quiet. And drones can also fly in circumstances
that airplanes cannot due to bad weather.”