Juliet Uduji
Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, said on Wednesday the state government had pulled out of its peace agreement with bandits terrorizing the people of the state.
In a chat with the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the governor said the peace agreement reached with the hoodlums in 2016 yielded positive results.
He, however, added that the gunmen betrayed the peace agreement and had been carrying out coordinated attacks across the state with their accomplices from Zamfara, Kaduna and Niger Republic.
Masari said: “The armed bandits have betrayed our trust in them, following a peace agreement earlier negotiated with them in our quest to find lasting peace in the state.
We chose peace and dialogue for peaceful coexistence in the state and we have done our best, yet the attacks continue.
“As a result of the peace agreement, the government banned vigilante groups and identified cattle routes and facilitated free movements of bandits to convey their livestock in the markets.
“The Federal Government has deployed more troops with at least five fighter jets that would work between Katsina, Zamfara, and SokotoStates.
“However, the security agents are complaining of a dearth of logistics to help them fight the bandits.”
Credit: Observers Times