Empower Me and I’ll End Banditry in 2 Months-Gov. Dauda Lawal to FG

Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, has thrown a big challenge to the federal government. He has sensationally declared that banditry would be a thing of the past if the federal government gives him direct and complete control of security agencies in the country.

He’s not done. He also declared categorically that he knows the movement of every single bandit leader operating in Zamfara State as he can track them on his mobile phone!

But in a viral video that has sent social media buzzing, the governor lamented that he is seriously handicapped in the fight against banditry in the state because he lacks direct control over security agencies and outfits operating in Zamfara.

The governor lamented that the situation where security chiefs in the state only take orders from Abuja could be counter-productive.

“We have dozens of tracking facilities which we fixed across the state just to help security in tracking the bandits.,’  he disclosed.

“I swear to Almighty Allah, wherever a bandits’ leader is located within Zamfara state, I know it and if he goes out, I know,

“With my mobile phone, I can show you where and where these bandits are today. But we cannot do anything beyond our powers.

“If today, I have the power to give orders to the security agencies, I can assure you, we will end banditry in Zamfara State within two months.

“Most of the time, I shed tears for my people because I can see a problem but because I don’t have control over the security agencies, I cannot order the security operatives to act in time.

“There was a time, the bandits invaded Shinkafi Local Government and I was sitting here when the security operatives were alerted but they refused to go to Shinkafi simply because they were not given orders from Abuja. This is the problem we are facing but we entrusted God and surely, He will come to our rescue.”

Despite these challenges, Lawal continued, the state government has continued to support security agencies with logistics and running costs. Pounding his chest, he added that the records are available for anyone who wishes to verify.

He then recalled that about two months ago, his government donated and distributed 150 patrol vehicles to the security agencies in the state. These include the police, army, DSS and civil defense, all in a bid to help them do their jobs more efficiently.

The governor also revealed that apart from the thousands of personnel recruited as Community Protection Guards (CPG), his administration had also hired over 2,000 local hunters from Borno and Yobe States, and brought them to Zamfara to complement the conventional security operatives fighting banditry in the state.

“I am doing all these despite the fact that I have no control over the security agencies,” Lawal said. “But because it’s my responsibility to protect the lives and properties of the people of Zamfara as the chief security officer of the state.

“I have said it on several occasions that if the bandits are fighting because they lack some basic needs, I will provide them with whatever they lacked; if they are lacking water I will provide them with water, if they are lacking schools, I will build schools for them just to have peace in the state.”

However, despite the challenges his administration faces in tackling banditry, Lawal promised not to relent in his efforts to end the menace. He appealed to Zafara citizens to be patient as his government continues to do its level best to tackle the problem, making it history.

Governor Lawal also fingered politicization of the banditry problem by certain individuals in the state as a major concern to his government.

“I want to remind those undermining our efforts in the fight against banditry that their actions are destroying the state, not Dauda Lawal as governor,” he said

The governor recalled that during the just concluded bye-election, a large number of soldiers and other security personnel were deployed to the state with all sorts of war equipment to cover an election that took place in just six wards.