The governor who said this when he appeared on Channels TV on Monday claimed that the vigilantes are poorly equipped to face the terrorists who are locally known as bandits who carry “sophisticated weapons”.
Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State has lamented that the terrorists ravaging several communities in his state are more adequately armed than the local vigilantes defending the affected areas.
The governor who said this when he appeared on Channels TV on Monday claimed that the vigilantes are poorly equipped to face the terrorists who are locally known as bandits who carry “sophisticated weapons”.
Kaduna is a centre of banditry and kidnapping in Nigeria, with hundreds of kids recently stolen (and still held captive).
Although the state administration established local vigilantes as part of efforts to quell the rampant instability sweeping Kaduna and other parts of the country, the situation remains concerning.
Governor Sani has blamed the incident on the local vigilantes' inadequate equipment.
The governor said, “Vigilance service cannot hold anything more than pump actions and these bandits, they come around with AK-47s and even more sophisticated weapons. That is where we are.
“And in any case, that is the reason why some of us are insisting that we need to create state police. When you create state police, you will give the state police the legal authority through our constitution to hold firearms including AK-47s. Then those communities can defend themselves.
“But until this moment, the vigilance service can only work with the military. They can only work with the police and all the relevant security agencies to help them with intelligence.”
The governor made this statement on the same day that the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Christopher Musa paid a visit to Kaduna in response to the recent abductions in the state.
During a meeting with the Kuriga neighbourhood where the kidnapping of nearly 300 pupils occurred, the CDS had called the incident as regrettable.
But he told them that the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) is doing all humanly possible to return the children securely and put the criminals to justice.