Members of the Gobir Development Association have written an open letter to the President notifying him of the deteriorating security condition of their members,, especially those residing in Sokoto Kebbi and Zamfara state.
The association Chairman Alh Ibrahim Alhassan who spoke to the BBC Hausa service in an interview monitored by this medium, said the incessant killings of their members by the armed bandits have continued to raise a source of concern.
“It has become necessary to write an open letter to the President and informed him of the condition of our members because all efforts to reach him has failed. The area where our people leave is not under the control of the Nigerian government, it is under the control of one bandit leader”.
“ this bandit leader has appointed village heads, and he has to be notified of everything that is to be done in those territories under him, including wedding ceremony”
“In Sabon Birnin Gobir, one bandit leader by name Bello Turjiis the one in charge of the territory. He moved around imposing taxes on the people, and it seems there is no other authority that is in charge in Sabon Birnin Gobir apart from Bello Turji”
He added that, “Turji kills those he wanted to kill, and our children have been banned from going to schools because all the schools in Sabon Birni area have been shut down. Farmlands were abandoned and the majority of the residents of Sabon Birni people have been moved to the neighboring Republic”.
‘We have reached out to the state government and also cried to the media for the President to know our condition in Sabon Birni area of Sokoto, but the effort has not yielded any result” the chairman added.
On why, they have written to Buhari directly the chairman said, “recently people have been killed in Illela, Goronyo and Garki and Anguwar Lalle in Sabon Birni area of Sokoto and again on Monday over forty people travelling from Sabon Birni area in Sokoto to Gusau bandits stopped their vehicle killed all of them and set their vehicle on fire and also about (39) of them were burnt with fire beyond recognition”.
On the nature of weapons used by the bandits, the chairman said, “the weapons used by the bandits are more sophisticated and deadlier than that of the conventional security agencies. Anytime our security operatives went for operations, as soon as they left the scene these bandits would now come and launch more deadly attacks than you can imagine”.
“Sometimes twenty-armed security operatives are sent to fight over three hundred armed bandits, how possible is this”?
On the worst local governments affected by the armed banditry he said, “Sabon Birni, Isa, Goronyo, Illela and Wurno are the worst local governments affected by the acts of these bandits. The people in these local governments are living in a very terrible situation, they cannot go to their farms, markets have been closed all the roads network leading to these local governments have been locked”.
He added “the worst part of the story of the activities of the bandits in these areas is they come to your house raped your families in your presence and abducted people at will and asked you to pay for ransom”
He added that, “no one can go to his farm and source for food and to say it all, there is no village in the affected areas that the bandits have not imposed tax on them and even after payment of the ransom they bandits would not allow them to leave in peace”.
On why, they are not using members of the organized vigilante to fight the bandits the chairman explained “the worst part of it Sokoto State government has banned the activities of Yansakai (local vigilante) and the general order is that any member of the vigilante arrested trying to defend the people would be dealt with by the government, and we don’t know what the government wanted us to do”??
