‘Bandits always a step ahead’ - Sultan asks FG to step up intelligence gathering

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, has raised questions over the intelligence gathering of security agencies in Nigeria following incessant attacks on communities in different parts of the country.

He said that bandits and other criminal elements attacking Nigerians are always a step ahead of security agencies in gathering intelligence, urging the military and other security agencies to step up intelligence gathering.

The Sultan spoke on Wednesday at the 80th edition of the National Islamic Vocation Course (IVC) in Bauchi, where he condemned the recent attack by gunmen in Plateau State which claimed the lives of over 100 persons with several others wounded.

He called on security agencies to be more proactive and try to prevent such attacks.

“We only condemned such things but after condemning such activities by these bandits and criminals what next? What are the rest of the government who are supposed to protect our lives and property (doing)? Why do we keep on having these deaths? The Tudun Biri incident is still fresh with us and now the recent on the Plateau,” the Sultan said.

He further queried, “Why can’t you be proactive to stop such attacks before they happen? What happened to our intelligence-gathering mechanism? Are you telling me that nobody knew about such attacks?

“In various places whether in Sokoto, Kebbi or Kaduna or anywhere, have we lost our sense of gathering information to avert any or such key loss? We must ask our government to be up and doing because these bandits are always a step ahead.”

Lamenting that insecurity had been politicised in the country, the Sultan said it does not have anything to do with religion but that of leadership.

“We are all in one big country where we have poverty. Yes, Muslims, Christians and even those who don’t have religion go to the same market and they buy the same foodstuff, enter the same vehicles and pay the same fares.

“So, it is not the issue of religion, let’s not tell ourselves that anybody is planning anything against Muslims or Christians. No; it is the issue of leadership and I have said many times that let’s have confidence in leadership that within the next few months something will change.”