By Ahmed Kaigama
The Bauchi State Government has reiterated its commitment to recruit 20, 000 youths to fight banditry, kidnapping and armed robbery that have bedevilled the state.
Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State announced this Monday at the palace of the village head of Lere, Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area of the State.
He praised the vigilante in the Lere community led by the police for killing 67 suspected bandits and rescuing 28 victims.
“I have come to congratulate you and to thank you most sincerely on behalf of the government and the people of Bauchi State,” he said.
“What you have done has shown character, perseverance and community engagement,” he stated.
“This is what we want to do in terms of tackling security in Bauchi State. I understand that you have rescued 29 captives and you have wasted and decimated over 60 miscreants and charlatans who have been terrorizing our people”
The Governor thanked the Commissioner of police and other security agents for ensuring the rule of engagement in the fight against bandits and other criminal elements in the community was adhered to.
The governor donated 10 million and 30 motorcycles to the community and promised to donate an additional 170 motorcycles to support the vigilantes and local hunters to fight crime in the area.
He promised to continue to support the police and other security agencies, including the local vigilante to curtail the incursion of bandits in the area.
“This place is the route of the miscreants from the northwest,” he said.
“My colleagues from the North West have come together to fight this scourge of banditry and they are going to do it at the highest level with the support of the federal government
“We are calling on the federal government to also support Bauchi State to fight banditry.
“We are taking the brunt. As they are working on terrorism we are getting the backlash because we are surrounded by seven states.
“We are a gateway to prosperity and also a gateway to criminals and we are overstretched and working together with minimal support”
Governor Bala Mohammed however warned the vigilantes in Lere not to engage in extra-judicial killings to settle scores saying the security agencies have faith in them
“You have to make sure that we go by the rules of engagement and make sure we are not extrajudicial,” he warns,” he said
He was in company with the state Commissioner of Police Auwal Muhammad, and other top security agencies including the military, Department of State Security, top government officials and traditional rulers on a support visit to Lere which had been under attack by bandits.
In his remarks, the Commissioner of Police assured the governor and the people of the local government area that the issue of kidnapping and other crimes in the area would soon become a thing of the past.
“I appreciate the support that we are getting from the state government all the time,” he said.
“I want to assure the state government and other stakeholders that the issue of security concerns all of us we continue to do our best and the state “
Earlier the Chairman Caretaker Committee of Tafawa Balewa Samila Wakili lamented that kidnappers, armed robbers and bandits had carried out 41 attacks in the Lere community, thereby causing residents sleepless nights.
Wakili thanked the governor for his quick response to the insecurity challenge in the area and urged the people to cooperate with the security agencies and the vigilantes to tackle the menace.
He said: “We, in Tafawa Balewa, have been plagued by great security challenges, especially of kidnappers and armed robbers among others.
“For over 41 days, there is not a single day that people are not being kidnapped or our roads blocked by armed robbers, some of them are even killed. This has caused us great trouble.
“We kept meeting and discussing how to address these issues and at the end of the day, commanders of vigilantes and hunters saw that it was getting out of hand.
They requested us to seek permission from security agencies to allow them to confront the bandits in the bushes.
“And Alhamdullilah, we recorded great success. They were able to arrest 36 of them.”
The village head of Lere Jamilu Bawa commended the police and other security agencies for providing technical support to the vigilante which resulted in the success recorded.