IT IS UNFAIR TO CRITICISE GOVERNOR BELLO MATWALLE FOR GRANTING AMNESTY TO BANDITS - MINISTER OF INFORMATION, LAI MOHAMMED
Nigeria's Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, has said it is unfair to criticise Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State for granting amnesty to bandits.
Recall that Eons Intelligence reported on Monday that a notorious bandits kingpin identified as Auwalu Daudawa and five other members of his syndicate repented and surrendered their weapons to the Zamfara State Government.
Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State had condemned the act, stressing that bandits do not deserve to be forgiven or compensated.
But speaking on the issue when he featured on ‘Kakaaki’ on Wednesday, a programme aired on AIT, Lai Mohammed said criticising the Zamfara State Government’s approach is unfair as each State has its unique way of dealing with the menace of insecurity, adding that the Federal Government will always respect the views of State governments.
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He said; “What I know is when you are fighting insurgency, you use both kinetic and non-kinetic approach. Granting amnesty to notorious drug barons, militants is not a new thing. You see, you need to be in the shoes of the Zamfara state government or governor to appreciate what are the issues at stake? Why he has done that.
“Don’t forget that to a lot of extents, the state governors are their own chief security officers.
“When the Kankara boys were kidnapped it was not the state government that had the military or armed forces that freed them, when we are dealing with insurgency, kidnapping, banditry, you are interested in the bigger picture; how do we restore peace?
“If for instance, if granting amnesty to one notorious kidnapper is going to give me peace in my state, I might take that decision. If granting amnesty to one repentant warlord would help me capture a thousand bandits, I might take that decision. So, don’t just look at what is in the public place, understand the very high complexity of managing insurgency and banditry and kidnapping.
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“The governor of a state understands the dynamics of the state and takes decision but it will be unfair of us to criticise him without knowing why he did and I want to believe that every governor work together with the security forces in their own state, so, it is not as straightforward as we think."
Few days ago, Ahmad Gumi, a prominent Islamic cleric, met with some suspected bandits in Zamfara forests and appealed for peace.
In January 2021, seven repentant bandits surrendered their weapons and embraced the peace accord instituted by the Zamfara State Government.
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