Niger govt dares bandits, vows to buy arms for vigilante groups in fight against insecurity

The Niger State Governor Abubakar Sani Bello has pledged to procure arms for vigilante groups in order to tackle the menace of terrorism and insecurity.

Bello made this assertion during an address at Kasuwan Garba in the Mariga Local Government Area of the state with over 200 members of the vigilante in the area.

The Governor said the security volunteer groups would be armed to confront “these enemies of the people across the state.”

The visit was part of his morale booster for the vigilante groups across the state.

Attacks by bandits occasioned by killings and kidnappings are now a recurring decimal in the region, with the abductions of students adding a new dimension to the fragile security situation.

Read also: Troops kill four bandits, recover rifles in Kaduna

Some bandits in Niger and other states in the North West have called for the disbanding of the vigilante groups, saying that was the only condition for them to lay down their arms and embrace peace.

Towards this end, Governor Bello declared that all vigilante groups in the state would be provided with automatic pump-action guns to enable them take the fight to the bandits wherever they were hiding.

The governor said there was no amount of threat from the bandits that would force the government to disband the vigilante groups in the state.

“We are not going to disband the vigilante as a result of the threat from the bandits.

“Even when banditry activities in the state are stopped, the vigilante will still be there to provide security in the local government areas,” he said.

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