Governor Bello Matawalle has insisted that Nigeria’s armed forces will not defeat Boko Haram insurgents and bandits unless President Muhammadu Buhari flushes out criminal elements from the country’s security forces.
“The nation will not defeat the criminals with such bad eggs within the security architecture,” he pointed out.
He stated this while suspending the district head of Badarawa in Shinkafi Emirate Council, Surajo Namakkah.
The district head was suspended indefinitely by the governor for conferring the traditional title of Durumbu on a military officer arrested for allegedly selling ammunition to bandits in the state.
A statement issued on Friday in Gusau by the governor’s spokesman, Yusuf Idris, said the government would not tolerate anything capable of destroying Zamfara’s hard-earned peace.
Mr Matawalle pledged to ensure that anybody found wanting in any way will be dealt with accordingly.
The governor also warned that traditional rulers must seek approval before conferring titles to avoid unnecessarily embarrassing the government and the traditional institution.
According to Mr Matawalle, the military officer was arrested for supplying ammunition to “one Kabiru Bashiru of Maniya village, Shinkafi Emirate,” and collecting “advance payment of N100,000 from bandits.”
The governor commended security agencies for arresting “one Dr Kamarawa,” who was in possession of four sets of military camouflage and army identification card.
He added that Kamarawa specialised in the supply of army uniforms and medicaments to bandits in Zamfara.
Mr Matawalle expressed sadness over “the involvement of some irresponsible security personnel in banditry,” saying it would sabotage ongoing operations and make it impossible to end banditry in the country.
The governor assured that all those arrested in connection with banditry in the state would face the full wrath of the law.
He commended heads of security agencies’ efforts in the state to fight against banditry and appealed to residents to cooperate with them by providing genuine information on criminals.
