Insecurity: Zamfara to Recruit 1,700 Local Charmers

The Zamfara State Government has said it will recruit 1,700 local charmers in addition to the 8,500 members of Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) recruited earlier to address security challenges in the state.

The state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy, Alhaji Bello Dankande, said this in Gusau yesterday, at a security meeting with traditional rulers, Fulani leaders and local government council chairmen in the state.

The state government had last year recruited 8,500 members of CJTF as part of measures to tackle the security challenges facing the state.

He said government came up with the policy to recruit local charmers considering the increase in security challenges in the state.

“In each of the 17 emirates, we are going to recruit 100 local charmers in addition to the 500 recruited per each emirate earlier.

“We are going to recruit other personnel from each emirate to monitor filling stations to ensure that fuel did not get to the bandits in the forests,’’ he said.

According to him, the meeting was organised by the ministry to discuss with Fulani leaders and other stakeholders, especially traditional rulers and local government chairmen on how to address the challenges.

“If we recall, we earlier met with Fulani leaders in the state; we gave them an assignment to go and consult with their members who are involved in banditry and criminal activities.

“If they have any grievances we can sit down with them and resolve them,” he said.

He challenged the Fulani leaders to call their people to order, as majority of them were involved in criminals activities crippling the state.

“Enough is enough because as a government, we will not allow such criminals to be killing our people on a daily basis. “We are aware that the Army Headquarters launched operation Harbin Kunama 3 in this state last Monday.

“Both the federal and the state governments are making efforts to end criminal activities in the state,” he stressed.

In his remarks, the Emir of Gusau, Alhaji Ibrahim Bello who spoke on behalf of the State Council of Chiefs, described the meeting as a good step to address security problems in the state.