By ABBAS BAMALLI

The Katsina State Government, says 80 per cent of bandits? attacks are being aided by informants and some members of the communities who supply food and other items to criminals in the forests.

The state?s Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Alhaji Nasir Mu?azu disclosed this in Katsina on Thursday, while briefing newsmen on the security situation.

He said that some members of those affected communities serve as informants to the criminals, or provide them with their needs at exorbitant prices in the bush.

According to the commissioner, the situation is making it difficult for the government and security operatives to address the security challenges in those areas.

?In one of the communities affected by the insecurity, a man was found to be selling a bottle of Coca-cola for N3,000, another sold fuel for N5,000 per liter to the bandits.

?Some members of the communities provide the bandits with drugs and other illicit drugs at a high amount, making it a lucrative business for them,? the commissioner said.

Mu?azu said that some community members often connive with bandits to abduct their targeted victims, including their family members.

?In another case, we found a man who connived with bandits to abduct his biological father who was diabetic.

?When the bandits brought him to their hideout, they had already reserved diabetic tablets for his daily consumption.

?The sum of N30 million was paid as ransom for the man, and N8 million was given to the man for compromising and allowing his father to be abducted.?

Muazu also said informants were known for alerting bandits whenever Nigeria Air Force (NAF) jets leave the airport with the aim of bombing their hideouts.

He said that the jets often end up not reaching their target, because some members of the communities allow the criminals to hide under them.

According to him, the situation is a serious challenge hindering the success against the bandits, especially by the NAF, making their mission unsuccessful.

The commissioner revealed that activities of bandits only constitute about 20 per cent of the security challenge, lamenting that tackling insecurity in the state can only be addressed when there is cooperation from affected communities.

He said the state government has made headway in several councils in tackling insecurity using kinetic measures, but that the non-kinetic measure was also important to ensure a lasting solution to the problem.

Mu?azu called on the public to come forward and provide sensitive information that would lead to viable solutions in addressing insecurity, assuring that such information would be treated with utmost confidentiality. (NAN)

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