Be mean with bandits, Masari challenges police

Arrest insecurity to avoid voter apathy in next elections, TMG tells FG
Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, has called on the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba, to rally his men to move into bandits’ enclaves in the forests and eliminate their leaders.

He stated this, yesterday, when the police boss visited him at the Government House, Katsina.

According to Masari, eliminating bandits’ leaders will send jitters down the spines of their foot soldiers and prove to the people that the war against banditry is being diligently executed.

He said bandits’ leaders were known faces to many living in security-prone areas, and that they often appear on social media to boast about their heinous exploits.

The governor also called on the police and other security operatives to embrace the use of modern technology in executing the war against banditry.

On his part, the IGP said the police would recruit 20,000 personnel within two years, to boost the fight against criminality in the country.

Baba said the recruitment commenced last year, and would continue in the current year.

IN the same vein, the Transition monitoring group (TMG) has called on the Federal Government to urgently halt the multi-faced security challenges in the country, to avert voter apathy in the next elections.

TMG, during a press conference in Abuja, on Wednesday, said Nigerians were increasingly losing confidence in the electoral system due to malpractice, violence, as well as commercialisation and privatisation of political parties and political offices for selfish interests.

Chairman of the group, Auwal Rafsanjani, noted that there was uncertainty to when the government would address the issue of banditry that engulfed the country and tackle the problem associated with criminal herdsmen.

“TMG has observed reports of misconduct by security personnel, politicians and political parties during elections in Nigeria and will observe closely and report accordingly the activities of these set of stakeholders to ensure compliance with extant electoral laws and regulations,” Rafsanjani said.

The group also noted a growing trend in Nigeria where political parties and candidates litigate against electoral processes and outcomes.

It, therefore, said it would support efforts to sanitise the bench from the influence of politicians for the betterment of the political system.