Presidency summons Matawalle over insecurity in Zamfara

Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State yesterday updated the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, on the security situation of the state.

The governor said that security agencies were working hard to tackle the menace of banditry and violent crimes in the state.

Speaking with State House correspondents shortly after the closeddoor meeting in Abuja, Matawalle said that his government had intensified efforts towards restoring peace to all the troubled parts of the state.

He said: “I am here to see the Chief of Staff to the President because of the issue currently bedevilling Zamfara. We discussed intensively about the security issue in Northern Nigeria, not just in Zamfara.

“We met in the National Security Adviser’s office with northern governors and the Inspector-General of Police and other security agencies. We discussed extensively on the issue of insecurity.

“I was invited here by the Chief of

President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana yesterday apologized over the demolition of a building on the premises of Nigerian High Commission in Accra, Ghana.

President Akufo-Addo, who spoke

Staff to the President to come and brief him on the issue of insecurity in my state, which I have done, and we have understood where we are going.

“The Zamfara government and the security agencies are doing their best to make sure that we curtail this issue of insecurity.”

According to the governor, government is using the carrot-andstick approach in handling security issues in the state, adding that repentant bandits are profiled and re-integrated into the society.

“You know that in handling security issue, we have to adopt so many methods. So we are using both stick and carrot to achieve maximum result.

“There are some repentant bandits who have already subscribed to the peace initiative; we are using them; but those who refused to key into the dialogue initiative, we are fighting them,” he said.

He expressed the optimism that the ongoing military operations in the state would be successful,” he added (NAN) with President Muhammadu Buhari on phone, said that he had directed full investigation into the incident.

A spokesman of President Buhari, Garba Shehu, in a statement yesterday, said latest report revealed that some suspects had been arrested and would be arraigned in court.