Failure to defeat bandits have emboldened them - Governor El-Rufai

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai has said the reason the bandits have become emboldened enough to cause massive catastrophe in the country is as a result of the failure of security operatives to defeat them.

Governor El-Rufai said this during the presentation of the 2020 Annual Security Report on Wednesday, March 10, 2021.

He also revealed that some Governors and stakeholders in some states in the North-West region are collaborating and putting resources together to fund the military operations in other to fight the bandits in the Kamuku-Kuyambana forest.

“Together with Niger state and our neighbours in the north-west, we put together resources to fund military operations against bandits in the Kamuku-Kuyambana forest range that straddles the region.

"It is regrettable that the collaboration was not sustained or expanded into a campaign of continuous, simultaneous operations against the bandits across our vast region.

“Failure to contain and defeat them in one place has emboldened them to develop a national footprint and endanger national cohesion.

"The security of our communities depend on the robust projection of state power, and that can only be done with sufficient security numbers to overawe and deter criminals," he said.

Governor El-Rufai mentioned that his government has invested in a CCTV network that is currently being deployed in Kaduna metropolis while options for consistent operations of its drones are being explored.