Sani accuses Gov Masari of rewarding terror by proposing to offer bandits farmlands, houses

Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State has been criticised by a former Kaduna Central senator, Shehu Sani, over his proposal to bandits.

The governor was said to have proposed to offer houses, market stalls and farmlands to bandits willing to surrender and handover their arms to security operatives.

But Sani wrote in a tweet on his Twitter handle on Thursday that the proposal by Governor Masari-led government amounted to rewarding terror and would only end up emboldening the criminals and also encourage others to join criminality.

“Katsina Government proposal to offer Bandits Farmlands,Market stalls and Houses amounts to appeasing and rewarding terror.

“It would only embolden the Bandits,encourage others to join and further escalate and worsen the situation in the north west and north central,” the senator said.

A recent report had claimed that the Katsina State government intended to use the measure to end the lingering banditry in the state.

READ ALSO: Enemies of APC behind banditry, general insecurity –Masari

A leader of the bandits in the state simply known as Sada was said to have voluntarily surrendered to troops at Forward Operation Base at Dansadau recently.

The secretary to the state government, Mustapha Inuwa, was quoted to have said that the government had completed plans for bandits who would accept the proposal to leave to an approved settlement near Rugu Forest.

“This is part of a design by the government to clear the forests from being inhabited by bandits, the committee is set to work on the needed infrastructure any time from now.

“Some of the settlement areas being considered include, Yantumaki-Maidabino forest area and Sabwa/Faskari forests,” Inuwa was quoted saying.

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