Killings: I’m for emergency rule in Zamfara — GOV YARI
[ Update Vanguard ]
•Says informants fueling insecurity in the state
•FG to mobilise additional security in Zamfara — Dambazau
•Fayose alleges state of emergency plot to shut out PDP from Zamfara
•Killings unacceptable, security agencies must change strategy—Saraki
GUSAU — Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State, yesterday, threw his weights behind the call on President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a state of emergency in the state, following persistent attacks which have claimed many lives in the state.
He also blamed the continued killings in the state on informants who support the bandits and kidnappers.
Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State
Yari, addressing newsmen in Gusau, said: “I am also in support of the declaration of state of emergency if it will save the lives of people of the state,” warning politicians against politicizing the disturbing security situation in the state.
This came less than 24 hours after former Ekiti State governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose on his Twitter handle alleged that the All Progressives Congress, APC-led Federal Government was working to deny the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, taking over the state in the governorship, National and House of Assemblies elections, which the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, excluded them (APC) from taking part, except the presidential election.
Fayose had twitted: “I have been reliably informed that the FG is plotting to hide under the killings in Zamfara State by armed bandits to impose emergency rule on the state. This is their response to the insistence of INEC not to allow APC field candidates for the 2019 general election in the state.
“With the emergency rule, there will only be Presidential and National Assembly elections in Zamfara in February next year while governorship and state House of Assembly elections will be postponed till May,” he had said.
Informants worsening situation — Yari
Governor Yari at the briefing said “We are talking about the lives of our people and this needs the coming together of all, so that the crisis can end. If the provisions of my office had allowed me to carry arms against the bandits, I would have done so.
“But, if I am not around, there are capable hands that collaborate with the security team in the fight against the bandits. The security men are doing their best.
“But, it is sad to know that some of the people involved in the kidnappings are close relatives or associates of the victims, which is part of the reasons the problem is persisting. We must all come together and expose anyone or group that is part of these hoodlums, and we should also pray for Allah’s intervention,” Yari said.
He said that both state and federal governments as well as security agencies had been making efforts to address the situation, and lamented that informants had made it difficult for security agencies in the state to operate effectively.
The governor said that most of the bandits and kidnappers receive information from people in the state, which he said was “unfortunate.”
He said that President Buhari was doing his best to end the situation and had deployed more security personnel to the state.
“Before Buhari’s administration, we have few security personnel in this state, but today we have about 4,000 security personnel including Army, Police and Civil Defence.
“I held a meeting earlier today with traditional rulers and local government council chairmen. We are working hand in hand with all stakeholders to ensure that we end this situation,” he said.
He urged the people of the state to stop blaming government for security challenges.
“I am calling on communities to always support security agencies with information on suspcious movement in their respective areas,” he said.
Zamfara killings unacceptable — Saraki
Similarly, Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki has described the killings in Zamfara State as barbaric, unacceptable and called on the security agencies to swiftly devise a strategy to put an end to the ugly situation.
Saraki, in a statement by his Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), Yusuph Olaniyonu, said that the situation in Zamfara State was a demonstration that unlike in 2015 when the only crisis point in the Northern part of the country was the North-East zone, the North-West has today been engulfed by a bloody situation in which human lives are wasted on a daily basis.
He said the killings have gone on for too long and the situation has not been given the desired attention as well as the right strategy that will stop it, adding that there was a clear indication of systemic failure.
More security measures underway — Dambazzau
Meanwhile, the Minister of Interior, Lt-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd), has assured Nigerians of the Federal Government’s readiness to deploy additional security resources to end the destruction of lives and property in Zamfara State.
FG planning emergency rule in Zamfara, Fayose alleges
Dambazau gave the assurance in a statement by his Press Secretary, Osaigbovo Ehisienmen in Abuja.
In the statement, Dambazau said President Buhari had commiserated with the government and people of Zamfara, following attacks by suspected bandits, which claimed property and lives of innocent Nigerians. He expressed Buhari’s deep concern about the unrepentant attitude of the perpetrators of senseless killings in the state.
“We are committed to working closely with the state government to deploy more security resources to the state,” Dambazau said.
Ehisienmen said further in the statement that the Minister was further briefed by heads of security agencies in Zamfara, in order to put in place additional proactive measures to restore peace needed to protect agricultural and mining interests in the state.
According to the statement, Dambazau was received by the state’s acting Governor, Sanusi Rikiji and other members of Zamfara Executive Council.
The minister later proceeded to the palace of Sarkin Katsina Gusau, His Royal Highness Dr Ibrahim Bello, the Emir of Gusau.
He said Dambazau, while at the palace also delivered Buhari’s message, and assured the Gusau emirate of government’s commitment to ensure law and order in the state.
He said the minister also visited the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, camp, as well as the headquarters of Tsafe Local Government area, where protesters destroyed vehicles and other government property.
It will be recalled that on Wednesday, Federal Government has said the persistent attacks on residents of Zamfara State by bandits will affect food security in the country.
The government, through the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, had also dismissed report that troops of the Nigerian Army shot and killed many people protesting the renewed killings in the state on Christmas day.
This is even as the PDP on Wednesday, flayed the Federal Government for its inability to stop the incessant killings of Nigerians in the state by bandits.
The Minister of Interior, Dambazau on Wednesday, expressed worry over the food scarcity the attacks would have on Nigeria, while on an on-the-spot assessment of activities of the bandits in the state in Gusau, “Since those affected by the killings are largely the agrarian rural dwellers, the activities of the bandits will have a serious impact on agriculture and food security.
“This is a final warning, the bandits must stop these acts forthwith because the Federal Government has devised more stringent ways to deal with them. I want to assure them that they cannot withstand the consequences.”
FG planning emergency rule in Zamfara, Fayose alleges
Source:
https://samueljackson12.blogspot.com/2018/12/killings-im-for-emergency-rule-in.html
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