Zamfara State government has launched 2,645 Community Protection Guards (CPGs) with a view to combating banditry and other related crimes bedeviling the state.
The local guards also known as Askarawan Zamfara were meant to complement other security agencies in curbing banditry and other crimes in the state.
Speaking at the occasion, Governor Dauda Lawal said the state government had invested heavily in the security sector in its efforts to bring the menace of banditry to an end.
The governor, therefore, charged the CPG personnel to reciprocate the gesture by committing themselves in protecting the lives and properties of the people of Zamfara State.
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The Katsina State governor Dr Umar Dikko Radda said the northern governors were committed towards addressing the security and socio-economic challenges affecting the region.
Also speaking, the former security adviser to the former Head of State General Ibarahim Badamasi Babangida, General Aliyu Muhmmad Gusau said fighting insecurity must be accompanied by sound socio-economic policies that would improve the wellbeing of the citizenry.
General Gusau explained that most of the crimes being committed have direct links to poverty and redundancy especially among the youth.
The Zamfara State government has provided some patrol vans and motorcycles to the CGP personnel for the smooth conduct of their operations.