THE Senate has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to declare bandits as terrorists.
The Red Chamber, which made the call today, also advised the president to wage total war against the bandits, including bombing all their locations to annihilate and eliminate them.
The resolutions followed a motion by Senator Ibrahim Abdullahi Gobir (Sokoto East) and eight others.
Gobir noted that Sokoto East Senatorial District has now become a safe haven for bandits due to the current onslaught against them in Zamfara State.
He recalled the killing of 21 security personnel last Saturday in Dama and Gangara and yet to be ascertained number of civilians from the neighbouring villages by rampaging bandits.
The gruesome murder, the lawmaker said, portrayed the seriousness of the problem which he said requires concerted and urgent action by the declaration of total war on banditry.
He expressed worry that losing such a number of trained officers would further deplete the numerical strength of the security personnel in the country, thereby jeopardizing the security architecture of the country.
He also lamented that most of the bandits have now relocated to Sabon Birni and Isa local government areas due to the sustained military operations at the Zamfara axis.
The lawmaker said while the crackdown on the bandits was taking place in Zamfara State, no concrete measures have been taken in Sokoto State, leaving it totally exposed to the activities of the bandits.
According to him, the present military onslaught on the bandits is not well coordinated because it is only being orchestrated in Zamfara State instead of all the front line states.
