Governor Dikko Umar Radda of Katsina has announced that numerous communities within the state have become less accessible to bandits, as residents are actively implementing strategies to protect themselves from attacks.
Radda, emphasizing his belief that Nigeria's current number of security personnel is inadequate to address the nation's security challenges, highlighted the necessity for individuals to take measures to protect themselves and support the efforts of traditional security forces.
In an interview with the BBC Hausa service, Radda expressed that the initiatives taken by his administration to equip local residents with the skills to protect themselves from bandit attacks, prior to any security intervention, are yielding positive results. He noted that many communities have become unreachable for the bandits.
“We are not saying people should take weapons, no, what we are saying is that the security operatives we have in Nigeria are inadequate, and cannot defend all the citizens.
“What we are calling on people to do is to give us their youth so that we will train them and give them something they can start using to defend themselves before any intervention from the security operatives. And this initiative has started paying off, because there are many communities now that are not accessible by these people (bandits), and this is as a result of the measures taken by the locals.
“It is unfortunate how three or four boys (bandits) with a gun or two could wreak havoc in a community of say 500 or 1,000 or 2,000 people.
“This is what we have been saying for long. The security operatives in Nigeria are not enough to provide the needed security to all people.
“This is the reason why we established ‘Katsina Community Watch’ after I assumed office. We recruited youth, trained them and handed over operational equipment to them so that they can complement the efforts of the security agencies,” he said.