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Banditry: Take Action So Northerners Can Breathe, Sleep – Gov Diri Tells FG

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Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has charged President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to make concerted effort to end bandit terrorists and all forms of terrorism in the northern part of the country.

The Governor lamented the spate of insecurity ravaging the part of the country, noting that too many people have been killed by dreaded criminal groups.

Naija News reports that Governor Diri made the call when he visited the palace of Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar III in Sokoto on Friday to pay a condolence visit.

The Peoples Democratic Party Governor visited the mornach’s palace alongside Governor Aminu Tambuwal over the death of a member of the Sultanate Council, Alhaji Hassan Danbaba.

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Naija News understands that the late Danbaba was the Magajin-gari Sokoto and a grandson of the late Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello.

Governor Diri in a communique issued to newsmen through his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, said the late Danbaba was dear to the state and Nigeria, noting that his sudden demise was a shock not only to the people of Sokoto but indeed the whole country.

The PDP chieftain seeks the monarch’s pardon, stating that he would have visited the palace earlier when he first heard about the sad loss but that activities marking the second anniversary of his administration, which just ended, delayed him.

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He said: “Your Eminence, I am here on behalf of the good people of Bayelsa State and my Prosperity Administration to commiserate with you, the governor and people of Sokoto State.

“Death is a necessary end that will come when it will come. None of us has control over it.

“Our prayer is that whenever we come to Sokoto, it would not be as a result of death again. Instead, we will come to this great kingdom to be happy and make merriment with you.”

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In his remarks, Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar III thanked Governor Diri for the visit and for identifying with people of the state in their moment of grief.

At the appointed time, every one of us will answer the great call. It is only the Almighty God that knows when is the appointed time”, the respected monarch said.

The Sultan commended the governor on his second anniversary in office and for providing what he described as very strong leadership as attested to by many leaders in the country.

He prayed for God’s guidance to continue to steer the ship of Bayelsa on the path of peace and development.

Governor Diri was accompanied on the visit by a former Sokoto State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Mukhtar Shagari, Amb. Boladei Igali, the Ibenanaowei of Ekpetiama Clan, King Bubaraye Dakolo and Brig-Gen. Eric Angaye.

Speaking on the issue of banditry in the state and the northern region as a whole, Governor Diri said the Federal Government must do all in its powers to end the scourge.

He said: “We are also not unaware of the banditry that has claimed so many lives in this state and other parts of the North. Again, on behalf of the people of my state, I commiserate with you over the lives that have been lost.

“I, therefore, call on the Federal Government and the military to redouble their effort to stop the banditry in the North. We are like a system where one part of the country is sick, the rest of the country is also sick. We cannot fold our arms in Bayelsa State believing that all is well when it is not well with our brothers in Sokoto.

“I appeal to the Federal Government to do all it would take to stop the banditry so our people can breathe and sleep with their two eyes closed. So that they can go about their legitimate businesses without fear of being attacked”.

Governor Diri also praised his Sokoto counterpart, Aminu Tambuwal, for his achievement in the state being a PDP Governor.

He took note of the development in the state, saying evidence abound that Tambuwal is working like other governors of the opposition party.

“Like the National Chairman of our party said, Governor Tambuwal is working. I am even taken aback by the level of development I have seen in the state. I pray that God will provide the resources for him to continue to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people of Sokoto.”