The chairman of the North Central Governors’ Forum and governor of Niger State, Abubakar Sani Bello, has said that since the amnesty offered bandits had failed to stop their incessant attacks on the state, it was time for more drastic actions to end their menace.

Consequently, he is consulting with his counterparts in Kebbi, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara states on how to deal with the criminals.

The governor stated this while answering journalists’ questions shortly after a meeting with COVID-19 Taskforce Committee and other stakeholders at the Government House, Minna, yesterday.

According to the governor, who was not happy with the renewed attacks by bandits, “it has become clear and obvious that the amnesty programme for some of the bandits is not working”.

Sani Bello said that the government must assert itself by using whatever means available to end the bandits’ activities as they have tolerated their recklessness for a long time now.

The governor said that all civilised approach engaged by the government including providing the bandits with means of living to stop their activities had not stopped them from the activities.

He decried the way and manner the bandits have continued to unleash mayhem on the communities lamenting that banditry is increasing with perpetrators denying the locals access to their farms due to incessant attacks and cattle rustling.

“The danger here is that the bandits have refused to let our local people, our farmers to operate…we are heading towards famine and starvation,” he warned.

To have inter-state approach towards ending the trend, he said that a teleconference is being organised with the governors of Niger, Zamfara, Kebbi, Kaduna, Sokoto and Katsina states that share common boundaries and were being terrorised by bandits.

He said that it was to review the situation and come up with a policy on how best to end the bandits’ havoc within the shortest possible time. (Leadership)

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