Dikko Umaru Radda, the governor of Katsina State, has urged the federal government to make laws enabling people to lawfully buy rifles and other weapons in order to protect themselves against robbers.
The governor bemoaned the fact that criminals have perfected ways to obtain firearms illegally and argued that state governments and other parties involved must be given the opportunity to establish institutions that will enable them to protect their citizens and themselves.
Governor Dikko lamented the situation in which state governors are expected to serve as chief security officers while lacking control over the military, police, and other security services during a news conference on Friday in Abuja.
Despite the circumstances, Dikko emphasized the administration’s determination to tackle criminals and other security issues in Katsina State. He claimed that his government would not bargain with outlaws.
No matter how powerful they may be, traditional rulers who are discovered to be working with terrorists, bandits, and other criminals will be dealt with, he continued.
Accordingly, the governor said, “We governors are so-called chief security officers of our states, but we don’t have the authority to command the military, police, or civil defense. They receive orders from above.
“In our efforts, we have come up with the intelligence unit within the Katsina Community Watch Corps. This intelligence unit—even the corps members don’t know them. The reason for setting it up is to check the excesses of the Watch Corps and also to gather information.
“There are some traditional rulers who are identified, and those ones are already under scrutiny. So, we are not sparing anybody, not even commissioners in my regime; we are not going to spare anybody found to be involved in one criminal activity or another.
“We are talking about the lives of over 10 million people, not one single individual. No single individual is more important than 10 million people or the lives of innocent people in the village. We are trying as much as possible to gather a lot of information together with the intelligence we are getting from the DSS so that we can build a network that we can use to arrest and prosecute any person found wanting.
“It is a double-edged sword. We cannot fold our arms and say that we will not protect ourselves because we don’t have the sophisticated arms that these bandits have. We have the numbers, we have the zeal, and we have the determination, and you should remember that if they are going on any outing, it is just like the way it was done in Borno through the Civilian JTF.
“They will be covered by the police and the military, who are heavily armed. So, I think it is a concerted and joint effort. And I think gradually, we are working within what the law allows us to possess.
“We are driving towards that, and we are seeking reforms within the federal government in that regard. If a bandit can go to the market and buy an AK-47, an RPG, and all of those weapons, what about the people who want to protect themselves? They, too, should be equally allowed to do so. These people are holding it illegally; we are trying to hold it legally. Why can’t the government allow the people to hold this thing and equally confront the challenges?
“Negotiations with bandits are a no-go area from my perspective, but I said if I am at the point of advantage, if the bandits come out and say, Look, ‘we are dropping arms, let us sit down and talk’, we could reintegrate them back into society.”
“But I will not go begging bandits to come for negotiations. Let us deal with the situation. If they are weak, let them come out, let us negotiate, and we will reintegrate them back into society. They are our people, our brothers, but we cannot protect a criminal.”