Kastina State Governor, Dikko Radda said his administration’s efforts to fight banditry have suffered a setback due to sabotage by “insiders” who collaborated with bandits operating in the state.
According to the governor who recently ruled out negotiations with terrorists holding the state hostage, bandits received more intelligence than the constitutional government.
Governor Radda disclosed this during a press conference to mark his first anniversary in Katsina, the state capital.
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With continued activities of informants, Katsina is one of the states in the North West that has suffered sustained activities of terror groups in the region.
Kastina, according to a recent PREMIUM TIMES report, was among the top three states in the North West that recorded the highest fatalities and abductions in the previous year.
The state under the leadership of Governor Radda recorded 413 fatalities and 764 abductions between May 29, 2023 and May 22 this year.
The violence in the North West including Katsina, Zamafara and Kaduna among other states have displaced thousands of locals, worsening the humanitarian situation in the region.
‘Fighting a Blind War’
In his recent interview with BBC Hausa, the governor said his administration is fighting a blind war not knowing who is the real enemy conspiring with the terrorists.
“Fighting banditry is a blind war, as you don’t know who your enemy or friend is because we often dine and mingle with those feeding the bandits with information. So, everyone should be vigilant and security conscious,” the governor had said.
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“We do conduct meetings over insecurity but as soon as we are done with such meetings, details of the meeting would be revealed to them,” he added. “We have arrested many traditional rulers and government officials for being involved in the insecurity in Katsina, we also received security information confirming it.”
During a recent trip to the United States of America where world leaders converged to discuss regional and internal threats, the governor appealed to the USA to help tackle banditry and other forms of insecurity bedevilling his state and the North West region.
