Governors on ‘the same page’ on killing of bandits – el-Rufai

GOVERNOR Nasir el-Rufai has said his stance that bandits must be killed when apprehended is shared by his counterparts across the country.

El-Rufai has never hidden his aversion to payment of ransom to bandits to secure release of innocent victims whenever they find themselves in bandits’ clutches.

The Kaduna State Governor said bandits have challenged the sovereignty of the country and they deserve nothing but death.

Speaking at the ‘Financing Safe School’ launch today in Abuja, el-Rufai said security agencies must eliminate anyone found in the hideouts of bandits, adding that no inhabitant of forests is innocent.

Although some northern governors, particularly Bello Matawalle of Zamfara, have advocated dialogue with bandits, el-Rufai insists that they are all on the same page on “killing them all”.

“Our position as governors and we are unanimous in this because we, the northern states’ governors, met with the president on this subject. Our unanimous position is to wipe out the bandits. We must go into these forests, nobody living in that forest is innocent, and just kill them all. It is the only way to end this,” said the governor

“We need the combination of air power, and we need troops on the ground augmented by local expertise and knowledge. We need just one, two, three months operation to just try to kill all the bandits. It’s the only way to stop this. So long as these bandits are being paid, it’ll remain a business. So the only option that we have is to ensure that we kill them all.”

The Kaduna governor claimed there’s been a decline in the operation of bandits across the northern part of the country.

He attributed the reduction to the reconnaissance efforts of the Nigerian air force who keep supporting the troops on the ground in their operations.

“I’m very happy that the chief of air staff has been bombing them. So you’ll see there’s a decline in banditry. What you see is the coordinated action with air power, use of drones,” el-Rufai said.

He, however, noted that more advanced weapons must be acquired for the security agencies in order to make their operations more efficient.

“I think the security agencies also need more advanced technology. The Air force needs more drones. Drones are much cheaper than planes and there are drones now that can carry missiles,” the governor said.

“Because they [the bandits] know when they hear the sound of the aircraft and hide in the bushes. But drones can be more targeted, more selective and quiet. And drones can also fly in circumstances that airplanes cannot due to bad weather.”