Govt officials, security agencies involved in banditry - Gov Radda

Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, has alleged that some government officials and security personnel are involved in banditry.

The governor made the accusation while featuring on Friday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today.

He hinted that the involvement of officials who are supposed to be combatting banditry makes it difficult to totally eradicate insecurity in the nation.

He reiterated that it has become a “business venture” for criminal officers.

In his words, “Now it has turned out to be a business venture – a business venture for criminals, some people who are in government, and some people who are in security outfits, and some people who are responsible for the day-to-day activities of their people.

“These are some of the reasons why we are unable to bring banditry to an end.”

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has made reducing insecurity one of his priorities.

Many have attributed the insecurity to politics, but Governor Radda says poverty and injustice are major drivers.

“The issue of the hypothesis behind political motives being responsible for banditry is not true,” the Katsina State governor said.

According to him, many youths in the north are recruited into banditry with as little as N500.

As part of moves to tackle the region’s insecurity, some northern governors were on a trip to the US. Though they came under heavy criticism for the meeting, with many wondering why it was not held in Nigeria, Radda has said they were only invited to the parley.

“The meeting was not at the instance of the selected governors of northern states, but it was at the instance of the United States Institute of Peace. They were the people who invited us; they hosted us for the meeting. We were invited to sit with them so that we could bring about lasting solutions to the problems affecting our people,” he said.