Governors of the 19 Northern states on Tuesday met with heads of security agencies led by the National Security Adviser (NSA) on how to successfully tackle banditry and insurgency.
Service Chiefs and heads of intelligence agencies also met to map out new strategies to end incessant killings.
Zamfara State Governor Bello Matawalle, whose state has been hard hit by banditry, briefed the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof Ibrahim Gambari.
He told reporters: “I am here to see the Chief of Staff because of the issue of security that is bedevilling Zamfara.
“We have discussed extensively the issue of insecurity in Northern Nigeria, not just Zamfara.
“Today (yesterday), Northern governors met in the National Security Adviser’s office with the Inspector General of Police and other security agencies.
“We discussed seriously on the issue of insecurity and the Chief of Staff invited me today to come and brief him about insecurity in my state which I did.
“We have discussed it and understand where we are going. Zamfara State government and the security are doing their best to ensure we contain insecurity.
“There are some repentant bandits that have already subscribed to the peace initiative. We are using them. Some that have refused to dialogue, we are fighting them, so we are using both,” he said.
Directorate of Defence Media Operations Coordinator Maj.-Gen. John Enenche, in a statement, said the Service Chiefs’ meeting was to develop new strategies to address terrorism, banditry and other criminalities, particularly in the North.
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Sadique Abubakar, on Tuesday in Katsina said the air interdiction component of the Nigeria Air force destroyed 10 bandits camps in the last three days.
He briefed reporters after inspecting the ongoing construction of Aircraft hangar near the Katsina Airport.
Abubakar said: “We have so far deployed 10 aircraft, acquired sufficient aviation fuel of up to 200,000 litres of JET-A1 and within these three days we have covered over 100 hours.
”We appreciate the citizens of Katsina for providing us with needed intelligence for without intelligence, we couldn’t have made any headway in the Northwest.”
Personnel of the 404 Force Protection Group (404 FPG) of the Nigerian Air Force thwarted an armed bandits’ attack along Kwauya-Tsamiya Village axis in Kaduna State.
Enenche, in a statement, said the operation occurred in the early hours of Sunday following a reported raid on a settlement adjacent to the NAF Base by some cattle rustlers/armed bandits.
He said NAF Special Forces deployed to Operation Badamamaki, along with the local vigilantes, quickly located the bandits and engaged them in a firefight.
“The encounter made the bandits retreat in multiple directions abandoning 40 cattle in the process.
“While there were no casualties to any civilian or NAF personnel in the encounter, some of the bandits managed to escape with gunshot wounds,” he said. (NAN)
