Northern Governors to Buhari: Banditry graduating to insurgency

The Northern Governors’ Forum (NGF) has told President Muhammadu Buhari that banditry in some states in the northern part of the country is gradually graduating into insurgency.

The governors told the president during a meeting on the rising insecurity in the north held at the State House, Abuja.

Daily Trust reports that the meeting held behind closed doors lasted for about an hour. Our correspondent reports that 10 out of the 19 northern governors were in attendance.

Governors in attendance were; Kashim Shettima (Borno), Simon Lalong (Plateau), Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Aminu Bello Masari (Katisna) and Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (Sokoto).

Others were Muhammad Badaru Abubakar (Jigawa), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), Abubakar Sani Bello (Niger), and Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara).

At the end of the meeting, the governors mandated Governor Masari to brief newsmen on the outcome of the meeting.

Speaking on the meeting, Masari said: “The issue that brought us to the President is about the rising insecurity in the North West, North Central and North East. North East is known for Boko Haram insurgency but of recent, what was known to be cattle rustling in North West and some parts of North Central has turned out to be something different from what we had before.

“So, this concern made us to come and brief the president so that urgent action would be taken in order to curb this deadly menace of banditry which is gradually graduating into insurgency. You know the North West with a vast forest area going to North Central and then even going  out of Nigeria.

“So, we need to act quickly and decisively so that it doesn’t turn into something else like what we had in the North East,” he said.