Banditry would end if State Governors have control over Pokice, Military, other Agencies

Banditry would end if State Governors have control over Pokice, Military, other Agencies

Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State has said the fight against banditry in the state would have been decisively won if state governments had direct control of security agencies.

In a viral video making the rounds on Wednesday, Lawal lamented that his administration remains constrained despite having intelligence on the activities and movements of bandit kingpins across Zamfara.

He stressed that without constitutional authority over the military, police, and other security outfits, governors are limited in their ability to act, even when critical information is available.

Lawal reiterated his commitment to ending insecurity in Zamfara, but noted that true progress can only be achieved if states are empowered to take charge of security operations within their territories.

He emphasized that the security chiefs in the state only take orders from Abuja, lamenting that “We have dozens of tracking facilities which we fixed across the state just to help security in tracking the bandits.

“I swear to Almighty Allah, wherever a bandits’ leader is located within Zamfara state, I know it and if he goes out, I know,

“With my mobile phone, I can show you where and where these bandits are today. But we cannot do anything beyond our powers.

“If today, I have the power to give orders to the security agencies, I can assure you, we will end banditry in Zamfara state within two months.

“Most of the time, I shed tears for my people because I can see a problem but because I don’t have control over the security agencies, I cannot order the security operatives to act in time.

“There was a time, the bandits invaded Shinkafi local government and I was sitting here when the security operatives were alerted but they refused to go to Shinkafi simply because they were not given orders from Abuja. This is the problem we are facing but we entrusted God and surely, He will come to our rescue.”

Governor Lawal noted that despite the limitations, his administration has consistently supported security agencies with logistics and operational funding, stressing that verifiable records are available to back this up.

He recalled that only two months ago, the Zamfara State Government distributed 150 patrol vehicles to the police, army, DSS, and civil defence to boost their operations.

The governor added that beyond recruiting thousands of Community Protection Guards (CPG), his administration had also engaged over 2,000 local hunters from Borno and Yobe States to complement conventional security forces in the fight against banditry.

“I am doing all these despite the fact that I have no control over the security agencies. But because it’s my responsibility to protect the lives and properties of the people of Zamfara as the chief security officer of the state.

“I have said it on several occasions that if the bandits are fighting because they lack some basic needs, I will provide them with whatever they lacked; if they are lacking water I will provide them with water, if they are lacking schools, I will build schools for them just to have peace in the state,” he said.

Governor Lawal reaffirmed his commitment to ending banditry in Zamfara, saying he would not relent despite the challenges.

He urged residents to remain patient, assuring them that his administration is doing everything possible to address the crisis.

He, however, lamented that the fight against insecurity is being undermined by the politicisation of the issue by certain individuals.

“I want to remind those undermining our efforts in the fight against banditry that their actions are destroying the state, not Dauda Lawal as governor,” he cautioned.

The governor also pointed out that during the just-concluded bye-election, a disproportionate number of soldiers and security operatives, armed with heavy equipment, were deployed to cover an exercise that held in only six wards.