BANDITRY: SECURITY HEIGHTENS IN SOKOTO Air Chief Visits Sultan, Urges Synergy
Security agencies have increased surveillance in several villages in Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State, after bandits within the week, killed 74 people in the area, residents of the affected communities told Daily Trust in Sokoto yesterday.
“There are many security personnel now and they are very vigilant, soldiers and mobile policemen are around,” a resident said.
Another resident said: “They are monitoring movement of people in Garki and nearby Dan Aduwa villages from where almost everyone has fled to Sabon Birni.”
The residents appealed to the authorities to clear the surrounding bushes which they noted had become a hideout for the attackers.
Some displaced persons were camped at the Township Model Primary School in Sabon Birni while others are staying with their relations elsewhere, our correspondent gathered.
According to the residents, more than 100 displaced people, mostly women and children, were from Garki, Dan Aduwa and Katuma villages. They added that some had to sleep at the motor park on the day they arrived Sabon Birni.
In a related development, Sultan Muhammad Saad Abubakar yesterday decried increased cases of banditry and other forms of insecurity in the country, leading to the loss of lives, and urged joint efforts to tackle the challenge.
He spoke while receiving the
Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, at his palace in Sokoto while in the state to assess the situation in some areas recently attacked by bandits.
The sultan noted the need for more funding of security agencies in the country, saying the recent killing of 74 persons in Sokoto State and many others across the nation was uncalled for.
Earlier, Air Marshal Abubakar disclosed that he was in Sokoto to assess the situation and the need to boost efforts to end the security challenges in line with the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Buhari had on Thursday ordered fierce military operation to crush terrorists in the state.
Governor Aminu Tambuwal on Friday visited the president in Abuja to discuss the situation, and expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the meeting while speaking with State House correspondents. He announced the decision of governors of the Northwest states and Niger State in the North-central to jointly address the problem.