A former governorship candidate in Zamfara State, Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, has called on security agencies, especially military personnel posted to the state to crush the escalating armed banditry and stop what he described as the untenable excuse of waiting for orders from Abuja.

Shinkafi, a former National Secretary of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, recalled that the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, recently warned that Commanders who give excuses of not receiving orders from Abuja would be court marshalled.

The former Chairman, Zamfara State Committee for the Prosecution of Bandits and related Offences, said it was important for the military to work in synergy with the state government in the fight against bandits.

The Executive Director, Patriots for the Advancement of Peace and Social Development warned against the politicisation of the current security situation in Zamfara State by influenced politicians in Abuja.

The APC chieftain reminded President Bola Tinubu that the security of lives and the welfare of the people should be the primary purpose of any government.

Shinkafi, a security analyst, urged security agencies in the State to be firm and decisive in crushing armed banditry, having been mandated by Section 14(2)b of the 1999 Constitution to protect lives and property when citizens are under bandits attacks.

“The good people of Zamfara State have been at the mercy of armed bandits who kill, wound, abduct, rape, displace indigenes from their ancestral homes, impose levies, rustle cattles and destroy properties worth billions of naira for over a decade in the state,” he said in a statement on Sunday.

“Most of these attacks could have been prevented if security agencies had worked in synergy with the Zamfara State government under Governor Dauda Lawal who has procured advanced technology of environmental remote sensing, Geographical Information System (GIS), Global Positioning System (GPS) which provide precise location and timing information to track activities of bandits in their hideouts.

“It is curious that security agencies do not respond quickly to intelligence reports from the state government of bandits’ planned attacks to forestall them nor respond promptly to crush such attacks and save lives and property.

“Instead, troops in particular would say they were awaiting orders from Abuja to act while hapless citizens were being killed and kidnapped for ransom.

“Certainly, this is not the rule of engagement in the war against terrorism, insurgency, banditry, militancy and kidnapping for ransom, as emphatically stated recently by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa while addressing troops of Operation Enduring Peace in Jos, Plateau State recently.

“The government and people of Zamfara State are at a loss on why troops in the state will insist on receiving orders from Abuja before discharging their constitutional duties of crushing bandits furiously attacking them.

“I urge the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to quickly intervene and ensure security, public safety and order in Zamfara State in accordance with Mr. President’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

“The president should also warn elected and appointed public officers who mischievously politicise insecurity in the state to make it ungovernable for the incumbent governor.

“They prioritise their inordinate political ambitions to the well-being of indigenes who have suffered untold hardships caused by armed bandits.

“It is obvious that banditry in the state can end within two months if there is collaboration between the military and the state government to flush out these criminal elements.

“What is lacking is the political will to crush them. The Nigerian military and other paramilitary personnel are well trained and equipped as demonstrated in their various peacekeeping operations around the world.

“Bandits in Zamfara State are not up to 20,000 across the 14 local government areas of the state with 50 – 70 camps.”

Banditry: Troops don’t respond to attacks, they await orders – Shinkafi claims