Nigerians would be shocked if I reveal identities of those behind Jangebe abduction -Matawalle

Governor Bello Matawalle has vowed not to abandon his peace talks with bandits despite the criticisms is action has attracted from various quarters in the country.

The governor said the recent abduction of over 300 students of Government Girls’ Secondary School, Jangebe was orchestrated by people bent on sabotaging the ongoing peace talk with bandits initiated by his administration.

He noted that these unnamed people were not comfortable with the progress the initiative has recorded so far.

The governor said he had many revelations to make about the recent abduction in Jangebe, noting that Nigerians would be shocked if he revealed the identities of those behind the act.

The governor stated this when 17 Emirs in the state paid him a sympathy visit over the abduction of the schoolgirls,

Also during the visit, the Emir of Anka and Chairman of Zamfara state Council of Chiefs, Alhaji Attahiru Anka, berated Buhari over the upsurge in killings and kidnappings by bandits in the country.

He said, “The Federal Government is in total control of the security operatives in the country and not the state governors, as such the President is the one who has failed to address the issue of insecurity.”
In his response, Matawalle thanked the Emirs for the solidarity visit and assured them that he would not abandon his peace accord with the bandits no matter what the people would say.

He said “As we await the arrival of the released kidnapped students of GSSS Jangebe at the Government House today, I want to inform you that there are many revelations in relation to the abduction of these students.”

“Many people will be surprised to hear those people behind the abduction of these innocent children.”

“They are not comfortable with the progress I am getting as a result of my peace initiative and they want to do all they can to sabotage my efforts”.
“I will insha Allah succeed at the end of the day and they will bury their faces in shame,” said the governor.
Bandits have been terrorising the Northwest region of the country recently.
The recent Jangebe abduction came almost two weeks after bandits abducted 27 students and 15 workers of Government Science College, Kagara, Niger State.
Before the attack in Kagara, bandits had struck in Kundu village, also in Niger State and abducted passengers of the state transport service bus.
Popular Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmed Gumi, who recently visited bandits in their strongholds across the Northwest forests advised governors in the region to enter into peace talks with the bandits as most of them have genuine grievances for taking up arms.
Governor Bello Matawalle, who has since embraced the cleric’s suggestion, has been at the vanguard of the campaign for negotiations with bandits.
He even asked his counterpart from Niger State, Bello Sani, to emulate him in order to end the activities of the bandits in his state when some staff and students of a government school in Kagara were kidnapped.
However, two weeks later the bandits struck in his state, abducting over 300 schoolgirls in Jangebe.