What bandits want in Zamfara, Rep reveals

Kabiru Ahmadu, the member representing Gusau/Tsafe Federal Constituency in Zamfara State, has said that bandits are carrying out more attacks in the state in an attempt to force the government to negotiate with them.

In an interview with Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily, Ahmadu said that the bandits wanted the government to grant them amnesty, but he believed it was not the solution.

He pointed out that previous governments had tried to negotiate with the bandits, but did not work.

Ahmadu also said that the bandits were taking advantage of the rainy season to carry out attacks, as the military could not access some areas due to the poor road conditions.

He said, “The reason why the attacks are always high is because the bandits want to us to respond to their request, they want us to negotiate with them which we believe is not a wayout considering that the previous government tried this but it didn’t work.

“They are trying to scare people by carrying out attacks all the time and they are taking advantage of the rainy season considering that there are some areas where the military are unable to access because there’s no road.

“They want us to negotiate in the form of amnesty which we all agreed that there is no room for that.

“The government of Yari tried it but didn’t work, former governor Matawalle wanted to solve this problem through negotiation, he tried his best, he romanced them, he did whatever he could but they only stopped for 4 or 5 months and they went back and continued what they were doing.

“The problem is that there is no unity among them. For example if you negotiate with those in Tsafe local government that doesn’t mean those in other places will not attack you. They have different camps, different group leaders, there is no way you will negotiate with them.”