The Senator representing Sokoto East in the Senate, Ibrahim Gobir, has said that the situation of bandits attacks in his state had gone so bad that the people now get help from Nigerien soldiers.
The lawmaker disclosed this on Tuesday while contributing to a motion by Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (Niger North) on the need to expand the military onslaught against bandits to other places.
Gobir said the recurrent bandits attacks in Sokoto had resulted in the loss of 300 human lives and 5,780 cows worth N2.5 billion with 5,000 people displaced and taking refuge in Niger Republic.
READ: Buhari orders onslaught against bandits, kidnappers in Katsina
“The situation is so bad that we only get help from Niger Republic,” he said.
He said whenever there was an attack and the Nigerian army was called, they will come, patrol the affected areas and go.
Senator Gobir expressed concerns that Nigeria; “can’t be big for nothing and watch Nigerien Army to assist us”, urging the government to take drastic action.
Meanwhile, the Senate, following the motion, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to expand the scope of military operations against bandits to include Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger, Sokoto and other places being attacked by bandits.
President Buhari had, last week, ordered the military to flush out armed bandits from Katsina.
The Red Chamber also urged the military and the police formations to increase surveillance operations to track the bandits movements to prevent them from accessing safe haven in other places.
Senator Sabi Abdullahi said the military’s onslaught against the bandits in Katsina may force them to seek safe haven elsewhere.
He said the attacks by bandits were carried out under the cover of a large forest reserve and area that stretched over Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna and Niger states, with pockets of safe haven in Kebbi and Sokoto states.
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