The Chairman, Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, Ibrahim Abdullahi Gobir, says traditional rulers in communities plagued by banditry and other forms of organised criminality must be investigated.
Gobir, who represents Sokoto East senatorial district, stated this Tuesday during an interaction with journalists in his home.
He said it was worrisome that the Federal Government was working round the clock to ensure security in the troubled areas while some unscrupulous elements appeared to be sabotaging the efforts.
The senator explained that an investigation into the activities of the traditional rulers would show the culprits among them.
“Traditional rulers in these areas, some of them are to blame. I am in the opinion that every traditional leader in these areas needs to be investigated, particularly where there is banditry.
“The government should investigate and find out if there is any role they play and then punish the culprits among them, because we cannot put all the blames on government,” Gobir said.
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The senator also discouraged any form of negotiation with bandits, saying they should not be compared to secessionists.
According to Gobir, secessionists deserve to be negotiated with because they are seeking the betterment of their people but bandits do not deserve such because they kill for no reason.
He said that the killings in the North, especially in the “religious and morally-inclined Sokoto, still continue to confound him.
The senator said he stood with the senate in its resolution that the service chiefs must go to pave way for others to better enhance the security of the country.
He commended the military for the efforts to root out banditry and urged troops to sustain the momentum.