Zamfara restores telecom services in Gusau

After about a month, Governor Bello Matatwalle has ordered the restoration of telecoms services in Gusau, the Zamfara state capital.

The state government had facilitated the shutdown of telecom networks in the state since early September to check banditry.

However, the governor’s spokesperson Zailani Baffa in a statement today said Matawalle had given the nod for telecoms services to be restored, adding that the measure had made life more difficult for the people.

“The restoration of the service at the state capital becomes imperative following the tremendous success recorded in the fight against banditry in the state and to ease the hardship faced by both the private and public sectors of the state,” Mr Baffa said in the statement.

“Government finds it necessary to ease the tight measure after the recorded success desired of it which has no doubt destabilised the syndicate of criminals terrorising the state, leading to the successes recorded against them by the security operatives.”

“Governor Matawalle promises that his administration will continue to monitor closely the unfolding developments and will announce further decisions of the Government on measures being taken appropriately,” he added.

The state government had yesterday said over 2,000 suspected informants of bandits had been arrested since it cut telecoms services to support military offensive against bandits in the state.

Zamfara is not the only state to have taken such a measure. The governments of three other northwest states have done same.