Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, yesterday, disclosed that he had since 2017 written to the Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government to designate bandits as terrorists, because it was the only way to change the game against the criminals.
The Governor made the comment after receiving the third quarter security report of the state, on Wednesday.
He said in 2017, he wrote a letter to the Federal Government, seeking the declaration.
According to him, his administration support the resolution by the National Assembly on the issue, adding that he will follow up with another letter of support for the government to declare the bandits as terrorists.
“We, in Kaduna State Government, have always aligned with the declaration of bandits as insurgents and terrorists. We have written letters to the Federal Government since 2017, asking for this declaration because it is the declaration that will allow the Nigerian military to attack and kill these bandits without any major consequences in international law.
“So, we support the resolution by the National Assembly and we are going to follow up with a letter of support, for the Federal Government to declare these bandits and insurgents as terrorists, so that they will be fair game for our military. This is the view of the Kaduna State Government,” he said.
The governor also called for a consensus between the Federal Government and the the 36 states on an emergency programme of recruitment into the security agencies, adding that government can change the game significantly by hiring 1,000 willing youths from each of the 774 LGAs in the country into the security agencies.
He said this will be a surge in numbers that is unprecedented since the civil war.
He said an influx of 774,000 “new boots on the ground” will be a significant blow on criminals and also serve as an employment boost.
He offered his sympathy for all the pains and sorrow insecurity is causing despite consistent efforts and investments of hard-earned resources, saying they are working hard to solve the problem.
He offered condolences to the security agencies and the families of the security officers that have been killed while trying to keep the people safe.
“I wish to appeal to all the citizens and residents of Kaduna State to remain law abiding and to uphold peace in their communities as best as they can,” he said.
