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Niger: Bandits Daily Attacking Our Villages, Increasing IDP – Bello

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Gov Bello Pays N20 Million Fine To Free 24 Convicts, 80 Inmates

Governor Abubakar Bello of Niger State has condemned the continued invasion and sacking of villagers from their ancestral homes in different parts of the state.

In the past three days, there had been more influx of more displaced persons from Chiro, Kuchi and Guni to IDP Camp in Gwada.

Naija News reports that the governor lamented the increasing population of Internally displaced Persons in the various camps across the state.

While empathizing with the displaced persons, Bello said security efforts were being intensified to bring an enduring solution to the incessant attacks by the bandits.

He said: “Government is not unmindful of the precarious situation you found yourselves in as we are making frantic efforts to intervene and ensure that your communities are rid of those criminal elements and made safe for your return.”

Governor Bello stated that the fact that most of the displaced persons were predominantly farmers and needed to go back to their homes ahead of the coming rainy season.

Meanwhile, Sheik Ahmad Gumi, on Friday said the killing of three abducted students of Greenfield University, Kaduna State has shown that bandits are at war with Nigeria.

Gumi in his statement noted that the only way forward is for the government to grant amnesty to the bandits for them to lay down their arms.

The cleric who had earlier aided the release of students abducted by bandits in Kastina and Niger States said he is helpless in the case of Kaduna State because the state government is not ready to negotiate with bandits.

He further stated that the only way he can intervene in the situation is if the state Governor, Nasir El-Rufai reconsiders his stance against negotiation with bandits.

He said, “The situation is becoming dire and I need the government’s support before I can do anything, and I think there is a great misunderstanding and poor reading of the situation on the ground. So, I’m really helpless; I don’t know what actually I can do as of now.”

On the students’ killing, Gumi said, “Honestly speaking, it is very unfortunate. There is an ethnic war going on, and I have been saying it. It is a war but if we don’t want to accept that it is a war, we will continue to suffer.

“You cannot predict the behaviour of people who are like that; this is the unfortunate thing and it is the common man that suffers. The way forward is for the government to listen to us because those people (bandits) are ready to listen to us. If the government will cooperate and listen to us, I think there will be peace but we are finding it difficult to get the government’s attention.”