Katsina Leaders Meet On Security Challenges

A closed-door high-level consultation on security, governance and development, hosted by Governor Malam Dikko Umaru Radda on Sunday, ended with a strong show of support for the administration’s anti-banditry strategy and sweeping reform agenda.

In a statement issued after the meeting, the government said the session held at Government House, Katsina, brought together top political figures, security veterans, traditional rulers, academics, and business leaders to review progress, assess lingering challenges, and chart a path to lasting peace.

According to the communique signed by the commissioner for Information and Culture, Dr. Bala Salisu Zango, and director-general of the Media Directorate, Maiwada Dammallam, participants commended Governor Radda’s visionary leadership and remarkable achievements in security, infrastructure, education, agriculture, and healthcare.

Deputy Governor Faruk Lawal Jobe, in his briefing to the gathering, outlined key milestones of the “Building Your Future” policy, including: 35,903 jobs created across teaching, community policing, and local administration, a ₦74.9 billion Urban Renewal Project spanning Daura, Funtua, and Katsina, with major road dualisations and rural upgrades, an education revolution featuring 160 new classrooms, 258 rehabilitations, training for 18,000 teachers, and ₦6.18 billion in scholarships for 174,451 students.

He also added that the government provided agricultural support with 400,000 bags of subsidised fertiliser annually, 400 tractors, and a women-focused goat-rearing scheme as well as healthcare upgrades with 260 ward-level primary health centres, dialysis and diagnostic centres as well as new pharmaceutical production facilities.

Commenting on insecurity, the commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Dr. Nasiru Muazu, reported that banditry, once limited to five local government areas, had spread to 25 after the 2015 amnesty collapse.

He detailed government counter-measures: recruitment of Community Watch Corps, vigilantes, and volunteers; deployment of drones and vehicles; and joint operations with the Army, Police, DSS, and Civil Defence.

The statement clarified that peace agreements in Dan Musa, Jibia, Batsari, Kankara, Kurfi, and Musawa were “entirely community-driven,” with local leaders not the government, engaging repentant bandits.

He added that between January and August 2025, 628 victims of attacks received treatment while major highways were reopened.

Governor Radda, responding to deliberations, reaffirmed that security remains his top priority, alongside education, agriculture, health, MSME support, and revenue generation.

He announced plans to build 152 homes for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Jibia, paired with business-support packages, livestock, and industrial tools to help rehabilitate repentant fighters.

The closed-door session drew an elite roster of Katsina and national figures, including: former governor Aminu Bello Masari, elder statesman Senator Abu Ibrahim, business mogul Alhaji Dahiru Barau Mangal, emir of Daura, Alhaji Faruk Umar Faruk as well as ministers, senators, retired service chiefs, senior academics, and leaders of labour unions, civil society and the business community.

The statement concluded with a pledge by stakeholders to work with the government to curb youth restiveness, drug abuse, and other crimes, while sustaining the grassroots security structures credited with recent gains against banditry.