Shehu Sani says the Federal Government of Nigeria is more interested in going after secessionists than bandits.
Gatekeepers News reports that a former Senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani has charged the Federal Government of Nigeria to channel the energy they used in going after secessionists to banditry.
Sani while speaking on Arise TV on Monday, said the northwest will be a better place if this is done.
In recent times, the northwest has been the hotspot of banditry with over 500 students kidnapped by bandits in the region in 2021 alone.
The most recent is the abduction of 121 students in Bethel Baptist Secondary school in Damishi, Chikun LGA of Kaduna state, on July 5, which came in less than a week later after the Emir of Kajuru and 13 members of his household were abducted at his palace.
While bandits continue to wreak havoc in the northwest, security operatives have successfully clamped down on the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, and is currently after Sunday Igboho, the leader of the Yoruba secessionist group.
Last month, Gatekeepers News reported that Kanu was been arrested and extradited into the country to face charges of treason.
Similarly, the Department of State Security has declared Sunday Igboho wanted after raiding his home and killing two people.
Many have criticised the government for not extending an equal level of commitment to tackling banditry.
Sani while making it clear that he’s not in support of the secessionists, said: “I can say in comparative terms that there’s more interest for the government in going after secessionists than going after bandits. I’m not a supporter of secessionists and I believe that secession agitation is virtually wrong and we should work towards a united Nigeria.
“But I believe that if the same effort — the way they are going after Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Igboho — is applied to these bandits, things would have been better for us in Kaduna and the north-western part of the country. Arresting bandits is more important to us than the issues of Igboho and Kanu as far as I’m concerned.”
According to him, just two out of the 23 LGAs in Kaduna state are safe.
He also lamented that all the entry points of the state are besieged by bandits and residents who live in the outskirts are constantly running for their lives.
Sani said, “Abduction has become a daily tragedy in Kaduna state, many even go unreported. Those that are reported are either mass abduction or the abduction of prominent people. We have reached a point, today, in this state where the only local government that are safe are two — Kaduna North and Kaduna South.”
“All the other local governments in the state are under siege of bandits. We have never seen this kind of trouble and it appears that the abductions are even increasing by the day. All the four entrances to Kaduna state are all under bandits attack.
“Anytime after 7 pm, people in the outskirts virtually move to the centre of the city to go back in the morning.”
