Keeping in tune with the deteriorating state of insecurity across the country, armed bandits have attacked villages around Gandi in Rabah Local Government of Sokoto State and killed an unspecified number of people. Some of the attacked villages were burned to the ground and the residents displaced.
Cordelia Nwewe, Police Public Relations Officer, Sokoto Police Command, said that the Commissioner of Police, Muritala Mani and the medical personnel from the state had moved to Rabah Local government area to assess the situation and ascertain how many people were affected, saying further information would be communicated as soon as the Commissioner of Police returned to his seat.
In another incident that authorities feel may be related to this present situation, the Police confirmed the killing of eight people during a clash between armed bandits and local vigilante in Isa local government area of Sokoto state; the bandits had attempted to kidnap an elderly person who also died during the shoot-out.
The Sokoto state Governor, Aminu Tambuwal has however blamed the killings in his state on the failure of leadership.
The Governor of said says killings of policemen by criminal elements has given credence to the argument that the nation’s security architecture needs an urgent overhaul. He described as worrisome a situation where policemen, who had the constitutional duty of protecting citizens, were themselves being killed by criminals; this can only be the result of failed leadership he said.
In a statement personally signed by him on Tuesday, The Governor of Sokoto State recalled that only last week seven policemen were gunned down in Abuja with their arms taken away by the assailants. He further noted that the incident occurred just three weeks after three policemen were shot dead in Sokoto State by kidnappers, who abducted a Syrian national being escorted by the dead policemen; and four other Policemen were ambushed and killed in Benue State.
“The question from every law-abiding citizen today is: who will protect us, when even those are constitutionally charged with the responsibility of protecting our lives and property have, themselves, become vulnerable targets of criminals? Where shall we run to for protection, when the institutions of state put in place to protect us are being progressively dismantled by opportunistic criminals and the trained personnel are also on the run?
“It bears repeating for me to state here that Nigeria’s security architecture and the strategies currently adopted and deployed for national security, if any, need a comprehensive overhaul. It is not working. The needless waste of life everywhere, both those of trained security personnel and ordinary citizens, is a drain on the nation’s resources and an unacceptable diminution of our valuable human capital. The worst part of all these is that these deaths are avoidable and the killings preventable. It boils down, at the end of the day, to the failure of leadership.”