Niger State Govt raises special squad to battle bandits

The Niger State Government on Monday raised a special security squad to ensure the safe return of the pupils abducted on May 30 from Islamic school – the Tegina Islamiyyah School.

A statement by Governor Abubakar Sani-Bello’s Chief Press Secretary Mary Barje, said the outfit was unveiled in Minna, the state capital.

The squad made up of combined security personnel was immediately deployed in Rafi Local Government Area, the statement said.

The pupils’ abduction was confirmed by the police and some residents of Tegina, in Rafi Local Government Area of the state.

At the inauguration, the governor said the time had come for the state government to take decisive action once and for all, to end banditry in the state.

He said: “We will give you all the necessary support to enable you to implement all your security strategies to ensure safe return of our abducted children and others, if any.

“We have tried our possible best not to make them succeed in forcing us to change our normal lives; they started by displacing farmers from their farmlands, next they moved to burning farms.

“Then, they moved to kidnapping and forcing us to close our schools, now they have started attacking Islamic schools, only God knows what is next.”

The governor told the squad members that logistics had been provided for them, promising that their allowances and other financial benefits would always be provided as and when due.

He commended the security personnel for their efforts in the ongoing fight against bandits and other criminal elements in the state.

“I mourn the killing of 20 vigilance corps members by the bandits in Magama Local Government Area,” he said.

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