A former Senior Special Adviser to the Kebbi State Governor and an APC Chieftain, Sahabi Sani Sami has asked the federal government to question all promoters of dialogue with bandits, stressing that the approach is unproductive in dealing with Nigeria’s insecurity.
The lawyer, who faulted the calls for amnesty for criminals, explained that as the worst hit by insecurity, Northwestern states must review their carrot and stick approach in tackling the situation.
The APC Chieftain in a press statement he signed, criticized Sheikh Gumi for comparing killer bandits in the Northwest to militants in the South-south and asked the federal government to probe how the Sheikh discovered the location of the bandits to the point of having unrestricted access to them.
Sami also condemned the insistent call for dialogue and amnesty for bandits by Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State, arguing that the strategy has given the bandits more morale.
He alleged rather than committing funds to promote education and infrastructure in Zamfara, Matawalle was spending state resources on bandits, who he claims ‘‘will eventually return to the forest to continue causing more mayhem’’.
‘‘Zamfara State is among the educationally backward states and sadly, both the federal and state school feeding programs put in place to encourage enrolment has been put on hold’’ he decried.
Mr Sami warned the government to rein in Governor Matawalle from his bandits’ dialogue scheme in line with the 2013 Terrorism Prevention Act.
He tasked the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Police and the Military to bring in all promoters of dialogue with bandits for questioning as their activities fall short of the provisions of the constitution.
‘‘Matawalle is not only promoting dialogue with lawless individuals in the state but also persuading his colleagues in other Northwest and Northcentral states to adopt the policy of dialogue with hoodlums, he said.
The former spokesperson who also hinted at the challenges of illegal mining in Zamfara tasked the federal government to monitor the no-fly order instituted in the state.
‘‘President Buhari is not properly briefed on the security situation in Zamfara, especially as it concerns illegal mining activities’.
‘‘A decisive action must be taken to stop illegal mining in the state, which has continued despite the ban of both legal and illegal mining in Zamfara State and the no-fly zone declared by the Federal Government needs to be revisited,’’ he advised.
