Lawmaker Calls on FG to Find Lasting Solution to Banditry, Abduction

By Laleye Dipo

The senator representing Niger east senatorial zone in the National Assembly, Senator Mohammed Sani Musa, has again cried out to the federal government to find an immediate and lasting solution to the cases of banditry and kidnapping in his senatorial zone.

Musa said in a statement made available to newsmen in Minna on Wednesday evening that his people are under threat of extermination by bandits which only the federal government can stop.

In an attack on Tuesday, 21 villagers in four communities — Kurebe, Sabon-gida, Sarari and Rafin Kanya — were cut down in cold blood by bandits, while 20 others were injured and about 40 kidnapped in the attack.

The bandits, numbering about 300, who were said to have infiltrated the area from Kaduna State, rode on motorcycles and operated with sophisticated weapons.

Musa, who described the incident as one too many, fell short of saying that the federal government has shown nonchalant attitude to the carnage going on in his constituency.

He condemned the attack, describing it as “as a barbaric and demonic act”, which must be stopped by all means possible.

The lawmaker lamented that despite previous calls made by himself and other stakeholders on the need for the federal government to establish a military base in the area, not much has been done, adding that lives are still being wasted on a daily basis

“For the umpteenth time, I appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari to please come to the aid of the people of Niger East. The carnage is way too much. The president should as a matter of urgency and importance order the military to establish a base at Allawa axis of the area.

“The Allawa forest in the area harbours criminal elements. But, if the military establishes their base there, it will scare off the bandits,” Musa said.

He congratulated the newly appointed service chiefs and charged them to work harder than their predecessors in finding lasting solutions to banditry especially in northern Nigeria, including Niger East Senatorial District.

Musa also commiserated with those who lost loved ones and property in the last attack on communities in the zone, promising to continue to give assistance to them in cash and in kind.