The Federal Government has said that 1,460 deaths were recorded from about 330 attacks by bandits in the last seven months.
The Permanent Secretary, Special Services, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Dr Amina Shamaki, disclosed this at the opening of the federal and states security administrators’ meeting in Birnin Kebbi.
She said even the North West region that was one of the most peaceful parts of the country was not spared from the attacks.
She said, “From January to July, 2019, about 330 attacks were recorded, resulting to the death of about 1,460 civilians.
“However, between June and July, 2019, the number of incidents declined, especially in Zamfara State, that had been the epicentre of armed banditry”.
Shamaki,however claimed that the attacks have declined as a result of security measures put in place by the government.
She lauded the dialogue mechanism put in place by the governor of Zamfara state, Bello Matawalle.
“The dialogue initiated by the current Zamfara State governor, Alhaji Bello Matawalle, in particular and the other governors in the zone is worthy of commendation and should be adopted by states with similar security challenges.
“Application of the carrot and stick approach is an effective strategy that enables criminals wiling to embrace peace to do so while repentant ones are identified and isolated for appropriate actions by the security agencies” she said.
She identified the country’s porous borders as entry points for dangerous arms adding that the federal government is working on ways to address the issue.
“Another security concern is the porosity of our borders. The borders aided smuggling of small arms and light weapons from war-torn zones, including Libya and Central Africa Republic, terrorism, cross- border crimes, human trafficking, irregular migration and smuggling of migrants, among others.
“The Federal Government is doing a lot to improve border security with a view to addressing some of these challenges” she added.
