TheCable

Nasir El-Rufai, governor of Kaduna, says his government has been asking the federal government to declare bandits as terrorists since 2017.

In recent months, bandits have terrorised the north-west region, with several Kaduna communities coming under their attack.

While receiving a Q3 security report on the state on Wednesday, the governor said declaring bandits as terrorists would allow the military to “kill” them without worrying about international laws.

The governor said his government has written letters to the federal government, requesting that bandits be declared terrorists.

“We in the Kaduna state government have always aligned with the declaration of bandits as insurgents and terrorists,” he said.

“We have written letters to the federal government since 2017, asking for this declaration because it is the declaration that will allow the Nigerian military to attack and kill these bandits without any major consequences in international law.

“So, we support the resolution by the national assembly and we are going to follow up with a letter of support for the federal government to declare these bandits and insurgents as terrorists so that they will be fair game for our military. This is the view of the Kaduna state government.”

El-Rufai said the state government will soon establish a farmer-herder reconciliation council while committees will be set up at the LGA and emirate levels.

The governor said many state governments in the north-west and north-central have adopted an unconventional approach to helping the federal security agencies better protect communities.

“There is no alternative to launching simultaneous operations. I call for a consensus between the federal government and the 36 states on an emergency programme of recruitment into the security agencies,” he said.

“This will be a surge in numbers that is unprecedented since the civil war. An influx of 774,000 new boots on the ground will be a significant blow against criminals and an employment boost.”

He added that his government is working hard to solve the problem of banditry.