Governor promises to empower citizens to defend against bandits, assuring those who die protecting their families will enter paradise.
Dikko Radda, the governor of Katsina in northern Nigeria is committed to rallying support for individuals willing to aid security forces safeguard their communities against criminals such as bandits and kidnappers.
On Friday in Katsina, during the launch of a Community Development Programme within the Katsina zone and its accompanying public engagement process known as 2025 Citizens’ Budget Participation, he disclosed this information.
Our new initiative entails providing essential assistance and education to any community that is prepared to protect itself, enabling them to confront criminals prior to the arrival of law enforcement officials.
After a two-hour Jeep ride from the main road, I finally arrived at Tsamiyar-jino village.
In case of bandit attacks in these regions, it takes more than two hours for the security to respond after you inform them.
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He stated that at that point in time, the occurrences would have transpired- people would have been killed and others abducted.
Insufficient security agents were a source of lamentation for the governor, as they could not adequately provide protection to all communities across the state.
I’ve reiterated multiple times that the security personnel cannot accomplish this task on their own. Moreover, we were lacking adequate manpower in our ranks.
It is shocking to see us perish in such a demeaning fashion. We were assured that those who die protecting their loved ones would be granted entry into Paradise.
A group of five felons are observed assaulting a populace comprising 2,000 to 3,000 individuals. They perpetrate heinous offenses such as sexual violation against young girls and women, kidnapping several members from the community with no resistance encountered from any inhabitant present there.
They would not shoot more than three times without being captured by bare hands if they were confronted by 100 youths in the community.
He lamented that paying a ransom cannot guarantee the safety of a hostage from their abductors, as sometimes they will still collect the money and harm or kill them.
Radda expressed sorrow over the popularity of a certain practice, citing an example where a village official accepted N700,000 from bandits to permit their entry into his jurisdiction resulting in the deaths of approximately 30 individuals.
“A teacher acted as their informant, and almost all groups involved in this act were arrested, including women.”
The Community Security Watch Corps, comprising of youths from various local governments on the front-line, has been established by the governor’s administration.
“After providing them with rifles, bulletproof vests, umbrellas and three sets of uniforms and shoes among other things, we trained them to work in synergy alongside the police and army,” he stated.
According to Radda, the government furnished them with 700 motorcycles, 65 Hilux cars and 10 Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC). Additionally, they also refurbished other vehicles that were owned by the police.
The sum of N3 million is allocated for fueling and maintenance of vehicles in the front-line local governments, while vulnerable local governments receive N1.5 million and the remaining LGAs are granted N750,000.
According to the governor, we have procured surveillance devices that are not available anywhere in the country. These gadgets operate on a 5G network instead of regular 3G.
He encouraged the citizens to increase their efforts in supplying pertinent information to security personnel for enhanced safety and protection.
