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Yari demands stronger military presence in Zamfara

By Saxone Akhaine, Kaduna
30 July 2018   |   3:45 am
Governor Abdul'aziz Yari of Zamfara State has called on the Federal Government to hasten the deployment of troops with heavier firepower to combat insurgency in the state.The governor, in a statement signed at the weekend by his Special Adviser on Public Enlightenment, Media and Communication, Ibrahim Dosara...

Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari

Governor Abdul’aziz Yari of Zamfara State has called on the Federal Government to hasten the deployment of troops with heavier firepower to combat insurgency in the state.The governor, in a statement signed at the weekend by his Special Adviser on Public Enlightenment, Media and Communication, Ibrahim Dosara, lamented that unless urgent step was taken, the menace might overwhelm the state.

In the Save Our Souls (SOS) plea, Yari alerted the Federal Government to specifically deplore more sophisticated weapons capable of crushing the bandits terrorising the state.The alarm to strengthen security apparatus in Zamfara was raised while he was receiving the report on humanitarian crisis in Zurmi council of the state.

According to him, the recent invasion of three districts of Mashema, Birane and Kwashabawa by the bandits is a testimony that existing security manpower in the state is grossly inadequate.His words: “Currently, the three districts have been deserted as a result of cruel attacks by criminals terrorising the state for about a decade.”

Governor Yari argued that over 12,000 people, mostly women and children, from 18 villages fled their homes and took refuge in Zurmi and other parts of the state.“The state government has already directed the immediate closure of all schools in Zurmi town where the fleeing victims are accommodated, while adequate relief materials should be made available to cushion their hardship,” he said.

He added that the State Committee on Relief and Damage Assessment, led by the House of Assembly Speaker, Hon. Sanusi Rikiji, had since intervened to ensure the victims were rehabilitated. The Guardian gathered that that the Internally-Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps are located at the Government Arabic Secondary School, Zurmi; MDG’s Hospital Zurmi; Local Government Secretariat, Zurmi; and Primary Schools. Also, 18 persons injured have been hospitalised.

Yari, who is also the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) chairman, explained that “with massive and concurrent assaults on Zamfara citizens, heavy troops should be deployed by the Federal Government to troubled areas of Anka, Maradun and Zurmi local government areas with application of systematic approach to deal with the ugly trend decisively.” He pledged his administration’s commitment to restoration of peace in the state, while calling on citizens “not to hesitate in providing support and accurate information until peace is restored.”

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