By; MOHAMMED KAWU, Bauchi
Governor Bala Mohammed has requested the support and cooperation of military and police authorities in Bauchi State to redeploy their men and officers on duty posts in Duguri and Yuli districts of the state as a security strategy to stem the surge of crime and criminality in the areas.
The governor noted that men and officers of the two security on outposts in the districts have over stayed their deployment to the areas, and even went to the extent of collaborating with bandits in perpetrating criminality such as killing and abducting innocent citizens for ransom payment.
Senator Bala Mohammed was speaking on Sunday while sympathizing and condoling family of slain 75-year old Jauro Katu Mai Dakkuna, whose two adult sons, grandson and daughter were last Monday at Shafa hamlet of Duguri district abducted by bandits.
“There was no how somebody from somewhere of Zamfara would visit that secluded place of Shafa hamlet to kill somebody unless he has an informer and collaborator. As the security agencies have always said, such thing could not happen without collaboration with some obnoxious elements within us”.
According to him, such elements included some members of the traditional institutions, and even the security operatives, adding “We have to fear God in all our dealings, we have already requested the two district heads to make sure they become circumspect, to look inward because we too were looking so that they can arrest all these issues of compromise, information being given to the bandits”.
“Reports reaching me the day before was some locals were supplying foodstuff to the bandits in the forests, so we are aware of such retrogressive tendencies, there are some few dissident security operatives that are compromising with the bandits. So we are requesting the commissioner of police and the brigade commandant to effect a change or redeployment of the guards here who have over stayed in their duty posts to have been conniving with the bandits”.
Mohammed said, “We are establishing a system of feedback, and I had some people within us are even feeding the bandits in their secluded places by giving the grains and flour to feed, that is the report I got, and we are going to take measures against such people wherever they are and no matter how close they are to us”.
The Governor who stressed the need to make people safe and secured as the primary responsibility of any responsible government, counseled the people to give the government informational feedback through their local leaders such as the LG chairman, councilors, district, village and ward heads for prompt action.
Senator Bala regretted a situation whereby as a serving governor and despite having sleepless nights, his people are having problems, saying “Duguri is my domicile home where I was born, came out from and grew up into this World to become what I became, so it is nonsense for me to be whatever while my people are being killed”.
After all, he said, “Our people have the culture of self-reliance, we are known for farming, our people are known for heroism, I don’t know when we have become such where some element would come and overwhelmed us, may be because of the compromise, but certainly you have to rebuild your courage and not allow yourselves to be killed in your rooms”.
“Certainly, we have poor feedbacks from our officials and they have to sit-up. And that is not only in Alkaleri, all over the state, we need feedback so that we can plan very well with our scarce resources. Our policy of community engagement has taken us to everywhere, where such ugly incident happen. We went to Toro, Pali, Mansur and Tafawa Balewa to commiserate and engage with the people”.
The Governor stated, “A lot of criminality, a lot of activities are happening here because the economic activities here are much, we have the best of lust vegetables soils, agricultural soils where our people have been farming for a long time. We have so many minerals potentials here and that’s why we are having these problems”.
Senator Bala Mohammed therefore commended the federal government for doing its best in curtailing security problems in the state, and thanked the security agencies, the local governments and local communities for their supportive roles in curbing the menace of insecurity in the state.
