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Again, Zamfara Governor Receives ‘Repentant’ Bandits In Government House

February 23, 2021

The bandits who visited Governor Bello Matawalle on Monday at the Government House also sworn with the Holy Quran not to return to carry out banditry activities again.

Three persons described as notorious bandits have embraced 'peace' and handed over several guns and ammunition to the Zamfara State government.

The bandits who visited Governor Bello Matawalle on Monday at the Government House also sworn with the Holy Quran not to return to carry out banditry activities again.

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One of them who spoke in Hausa said they had sincerely accepted the peace initiative of the state government; pledging not to commit dastardly acts any longer.

On his part, Governor Matawalle said his administration would do everything humanly possible to mop up arms from the bandits.

He said, “We thank God for making us witness another day of success. When we started dialoguing with these people, we have been getting so many attacks from all angles because people do not understand what it means.

“People have been debating the issue of insecurity but they don’t know the root cause and they don’t want to understand. They only jump and conclude that why govt A, B, C, D are subscribing to dialogue.

“The government is doing everything possible to mop up all the weapons belonging to them, to bring it to the proper authority.”

Also speaking, the Commissioner of Police, Abutu Yaro, commended the state government for the peace initiative, noting that it is achieving the desired result.

He however called on other bandits to make up their minds and surrender their weapons for peace to reign in the state.

Earlier on February 8, Auwalun Daudawa, the leader of the gang of bandits that abducted over 300 schoolboys in the Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State, and seven of his men embraced the amnesty deal and surrendered their weapons to the Zamfara State government.

Daudawa and his gang had on December 11, 2020, invaded the school shooting indiscriminately to scare residents. The operation led to the disappearance of over 300 students.

Zamfara, like other North-West states, has in the last 10 years faced devastating attacks from armed bandits.

In 2019, the state government entered a peace agreement with the gunmen.

About 15 brand new Hilux vehicles and cash gifts were also given to leaders of different 'repentant' banditry groups by the governor in 2020.

But despite all these, communities in the state are still being attacked and residents kidnapped and/or killed.

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Politics