A special intervention team comprising of the police, military and State Security Service (SSS) personnel has been set up to address cases of banditry in Katsina State. The development followed reported cases of cattle thefts and killing of herdsmen by suspected bandits in local government areas sharing borders with Zamfara State.
Zamfara State has of recent been confronted with security challenges in which armed men raid villages, kill, maim and cart away belongings of residents. The security situation spilled to Katsina State where armed men raided some communities in Faskari Local Government Area in which they reportedly killed five people as well as displaced over 2,000 others.
Relevant agencies at the federal and state levels have given out grains, blankets and other necessities to the displaced persons who were, at the time, staying in a school compound. Addressing journalists yesterday, Katsina State Commissioner of Police, Muhammadu Hurdim, said: "The prevailing circumstances have led the state government and security agencies to meet and form the intervention team."
Hurdi said banditry cases were being reported in local government areas sharing borders with Zamfara, including the Rugu forest area where herdsmen often take their cattle to feed. He said: "We know we have had cases of cattle thefts here and there, but that decision was taken to form the team to ensure that we bring the issues of banditry to an end."
He said Zamfara and Kaduna states have been up and doing in ensuring that related security challenges were nipped in the bud, adding that Katsina would not be left behind in the effort.
The police boss, however, called on traditional rulers and members of the public to assist with information that would help capture perpetrators and bring the problem to an end. Meanwhile, the state will soon get a state-of-the-art Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Institute and business school.
The effort, according to the government, was aimed at laying solid foundation for technological and entrepreneurial transformation of the state. Already, a committee set up to come up with modalities on setting up the ICT institute and business school had presented its report to the state governor. Speaking yesterday after receiving the report, Governor Ibrahim Shema directed the committee to prepare a bill on take-off of the school for submission to the state House of Assembly.
The governor asked the committee to recruit competent hands and people of good character to man the school. He also called for ways to fund the school in other to effectively sustain and keep same afloat.
National Mirror