The Governor of Katsina, Aminu Masari has charged residents of the state to arm and defend themselves against bandits killing them at will.
Masari stated this during an interaction with journalists at the Muhammadu Buhari House in Katsina on Tuesday.
The governor noted that security officials alone cannot tackle insecurity in the state, making it imperative that residents made alternative security arrangements.
Katsina, like fellow northwest states – Kaduna, Zamfara, has lost hundreds of persons to the nefarious activities of bandits in 2021.
“It’s Islamically allowed for one to defend himself against attack. One must rise to defend himself, his family and assets. If you die while trying to defend yourself, you’ll be considered a martyr. It’s surprising how a bandit would own a gun while a good man trying to defend himself and his family doesn’t have one,” Masari said.
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He emphasised the state government’s readiness to assist residents willing to procure arms.
“We’ll support those who come with the initiative to procure arms because residents need to also complement the efforts of security agencies. These people (security agents) don’t have the number to protect the people. When President Buhari came, he even tried by increasing the number of our security agents but it’s inadequate. Count it yourself, how many policemen do we have in this country? How many soldiers do we have?
“Even if we say every policeman should go back to his home state, it’ll still not be enough. So, if we fold arms and decide to do nothing, we’ll be the ones to suffer most,” the Katsina governor said.
He further explained that the police would register all arms procured by citizens to ensure they are put to good use.