Governor Nasir El-rufai of Kaduna State says Nigeria is at war with bandits threatening the nation’s sovereignty.
El-rufai stated this during a town hall meeting on national security organised on Thursday by the Ministry of Information and Culture held in Kaduna with theme: “Setting Benchmark for Enhanced and National Unity in Nigeria”.
The governor said there is no other way to approach the current insurgency but for security forces to take the war to the bandits and recover forests where they are occupying.
“The security agencies mostly react to cases of banditry and abduction, we are in a war with these terrorist challenging the sovereignty of the Nigerian state.
“Our security forces must collaborate to take the war to the bandits and terrorist, recover and restore the forest to enable our law abiding citizens to engage in legitimate farming and livestock production,” he opined.
El-rufai also stated that no one in a position of responsibility, can deny the need for sustained action, against criminals, adding that security operations that were more proactive would cripple the outlaws and reassure ordinary citizens.
He said that government must Identify and deal with non state actors and others challenging the existence of the country.
The governor, however, advised that security forces should be increased and be well equipped to deal with insurgency, adding that judiciary must also be decentralised to serve justice.
“To address the banditry prevalent in the north-west and north-central, we must implement the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) produced four years ago to enable accelerated investment in modern animal husbandry, incorporating the rapid sedentarisation of herders in known locations”, he said.
