Kebbi promises support for military to tackle banditry

The Kebbi State Governor, Dr Nasir Idris, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to give adequate cooperation to the security agencies, especially the Nigerian Army, in tackling banditry in the state.

He further expressed satisfaction with the efforts of the troops of Nigerian Army in the fight against banditry and other criminal activities in the state.

The governor made this known while receiving the acting General Officer Commanding (GOC) 8 Division, Sokoto, Brig.-Gen. Ibikunle Ademola-Ajose, on a courtesy visit in Government House, Birnin Kebbi on Wednesday.

He said, “On issue of security in Kebbi State, it is a well known fact that the military has made us proud. We have no course whatsoever not to thank the officers and the men.

“When I came in as a governor, people abandoned their towns and villages, and abandoned their farmlands because of the fear of banditry, especially in the Southern part of Kebbi state.

“Everybody knows that Kebbi is an agrarian state, especially its southern part, where we produce so many cash crops. We sat down with the security agencies and put everything on the table, we X-rayed and arrived at a conclusion and this yielded positive results.”

The governor added that his administration would do everything possible to assist the military to succeed, assuring them that “Because of your efforts, many people now go back to their farms.

“I charge you to continue with the efforts to enable people sleep in their houses with their two eyes close and go to their farms without any fear of bandits.

“Brig.-Gen. Sani Ahmed has done well, we have to say it, we cannot count the number of times we don’t allow him to rest until problem of insecurity are solved. Therefore , we have not regretted working with him.”

Idris advised the new acting GOC to build on the legacies of his predecessor, who according to him discharged his constitutional duties diligently.

Earlier, the acting GOC, Ademola-Ajose, described his visit as nostalgic and home coming, “because two decades ago, I was in Kebbi, I served in 1 Battalion as a Captain. Therefore, coming back home is very heartwarming.

“I am here to introduce myself as the new GOC 8 Div. I must sincerely appreciate His Excellency and people of Kebbi for the support given to the military especially for the support in the fight against criminals.”

The new GOC described the support of the state government to the military, especially in the provision of vehicles and other logistic support as a moral booster to the personnel to enable them discharge their constitutional responsibility effectively