Niger State Governor, Abubakar Bello, has claimed that the bandits troubling the north have aligned with terrorist organisations.
Governor Bello stated this on Saturday at the Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida Specialist Hospital, where he went visiting some soldiers who were recently injured following attacks by bandits in Shiroro within the Kagara Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State.
In his words: “We have every reason to believe we are not dealing with just bandits and with the latest operations and the way they coordinate their attacks, it confirms that they must have some kind of training.
“So we want to believe we are dealing with some terrorist elements who have decided to have some kind of alliance with bandits for whatever reasons,” the governor told newsmen in Minna, the state capital.
Bello, who also is the chairman of North Central States Governor’s Forum (NCSGF), was of the opinion that the magnitude of recent attacks carried out by bandits calls for a review of the security architecture.
While noting that the injured soldiers are recuperating, the governor further disclosed that two soldiers died in the Shiroro attack.
Governor Bello passed a vote of confidence in the Nigerian Military, stating that the security operatives are capable of curtailing the situation.
He called for more support from residents and urged individuals with useful and timely information to come forward.
Bello’s remarks come a day after gunmen kidnapped the Permanent Secretary at the Niger State Ministry of Transportation, Dr Ibrahim Musa.
