We employ dialogue to deal with cattle rustling, says Masari

The Governor of Katsina state, Aminu Bello Masari, disclosed that they have realised the need to dialogue with the suspected cattle rustlers, in search of a permanent solution to the menace.

According to him, the affected states include Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna, Kebbi and Niger states, emphasizing that, “We came to understand that if they were fought in one state, they simply relocated to the next state.” In light of this, they came together to come up with a strategy.

Masari said they learned that, over 95 percent of the people in the bush were not criminals. “Some of them took up arms to defend themselves. They couldn’t get to the market, because they could be killed,” he observed.

Confidence building was also one of the strategies they used to overcome the menace. The governor reveals that they were able to show the rustlers that there was no better way than peace.