TheCable

Uba Sani, governor of Kaduna, has called on stakeholders to take urgent action in identifying informants aiding banditry in the state.

Sani spoke on Wednesday during an emergency security meeting with stakeholders from seven LGAs affected by insecurity in the state.

The meeting, held at the government house, was attended by heads of security agencies, community leaders, traditional rulers, members of the state assembly and chairmen of the affected LGAs.

The seven LGAs affected by the activities of bandits include Chikun, Kajuru, Birnin-Gwari, Kachia, Kagarko, Igabi and Giwa.

On March 7, Many students were abducted after bandits attacked two schools in Kuriga, Chikun LGA.

On Monday, bandits invaded a village in Kajuru LGA and abducted over 80 residents.

The governor said the meeting was to deliberate on how communities can collaborate with security agencies to address the insecurity challenges.

He said President Bola Tinubu and security agencies are on top of the situation and assured that the schoolchildren and other kidnap victims would be rescued.

“One of the key issues the emergency meeting addressed is the issue of informants at the local level,” he said.

“We must identify them and deal with them decisively. Traditional rulers, religious leaders, local government chairmen and other key stakeholders have a key role to play in assisting security agencies with intelligence.

“All hands must be on deck to root out the evil elements in our communities.

“As the governor, I will lead this battle from the front. Our extraordinary situation now demands extraordinary sacrifice, cooperation and commitment.

“I have no doubt in my mind that the efforts we are making with relevant security agencies and Mr. President has been doing everything possible to ensure that our children return back home safely.

“I can say it here that Mr. President is determined. I have had a series of discussions with him, the national security adviser, and service chiefs.

“A lot of progress has been made so far. We will not disclose them here, but we are on top of the matter, and by the grace of God, our children will return home safely.

“We are here this afternoon to have a very important meeting which should be more of an interactive meeting between Kaduna state government and the head of security agencies in Kaduna as well as members of the state assembly from the seven local government areas that were affected by an unfortunate incident of insecurity in the last few weeks.

“The essence of this meeting is to look at our efforts towards intelligence sharing and gathering because we believe that security issue is everyone’s concern particularly those at the grassroots levels and here we have traditional rulers who are representing our people at the grassroots level.”

The governor urged traditional rulers to promptly report strange activities and incidents of attacks to security agencies for a swift response.