If security agencies were serious, Zamfara banditry would have ended– Gov Yari

Abdulaziz Yari, Governor of Zamfara State, has faulted security agencies for the worsening banditry in his state, saying the issue would have been brought under control if they were serious.

He also called for a state of emergency in his state once again if it will stem the scourge of banditry in the state.

Yari, who had recently alo expressed support for the declaration of state of emergency to tackle the killings in the state, said some politicians had suggested the idea thinking he was afraid to lose his office.

He insisted he is prepared to do anything to ensure peace and security in the state.

Yari spoke with State House correspondents after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Thursday.

“I’m not playing politics with it (declaration of state of emergency). I’m serious about it,” Yari said.

He also said the high rate of crime in the state would not affect the forthcoming elections, adding that the bandits are not occupying any territory in the state.

Yari said he met the president over the security situation in the state, saying the issue of armed banditry was being exaggerated.

Asked whether he discussed the declaration of emergency with Buhari, he said, “not at all.”

Read also: ‘My greatest wish’ is to not hand over a Borno ravaged by Boko Haram to my successor- Gov Shettima

“There is no place being occupied by the armed bandits in Zamfara State. They live and operate in the forest. They strike and run. Most of the camps are known by locals,” he said.

Lamenting the lack of presence of police in many parts of the state, he said policemen redeployed from the state following Buhari’s directive had not been replaced.

He said the president had directed that policemen who had spent three years and above be redeployed as a strategy to address crime in the state.

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