Katsina State Government said the coming days would be bloody for bandits and terrorists in some parts of the state.
The Secretary to State Government ((SSG), Murtari Lawal, disclosed this at the passing out ceremony of 600 vigilantes recently, he said the state government would not relent in its effort to end banditry and other related crimes and criminality in the state.
Lawal described the training of the vigilante as the best of its kind, equipping them with the skill of weapons handling and self-defence tactics to fight the menace.
He explained, “I’m pleased I have been asked to come, I can go back home with the hope that banditry is going out of Katsina state. With these calibres of people involved and the type of training, I’m no doubt in my mind that in the days to come it would be bloody for the bandits.
“Believe me with this type of situation, there is no going back or no surrender, we are going to fight this menace to the end. It has been a major challenge to us, especially to those of us in government to the extent that people don’t believe the government is doing everything to protect lives and property.
“But the truth of the matter is we are doing more than you can think. Just last week I signed a request to the state House of Assembly asking about N1.5 billion for security purposes.
“The Assembly was graciously approved and Inshalahu we are starting implementation soon. These are money meant for all the security agencies in the state to raise the temple and confront the evils within us. So, we are going more than what you can think. About two third of our monthly revenue goes to security agencies in their operations and to sustain the operation.”
He then thanked all stakeholders for contributing to the success of the exercise.
While explaining the rigorous training the participants have been subjected to, the special adviser to the Governor on security matters, Ibrahim Ahmad Katsina, said it training marks the end of banditry in the state.
Stressing that with the knowledge impacted on the 600 senior citizens and graduates of various degrees, giving rise to a total of 2,100 vigilante members so far trained in the state, expected to train 900 others in the next batch to complete the target 3,000 personnel.
