Katsina State Governor, Dr Dikko Umaru Radda has lamented the negative economic impact of banditry in the state, saying in the last one year, his administration expended about N13 billion to tackle bandits and kidnappers.
He however disclosed that 565 kidnapped victims were successfully rescued, even as 35 bandits were neutralized by the state joint security taskforce within the same year.
According to him, 363 bandits were arrested and subjected to the state's fair judicial system.
The governor in an address to commemorate his first year in office, said his administration spent about N1.5 billion on completion of tactical combat equipment for the Katsina State Community Watch Corps.
According to him, he also sustained the payment of monthly operational allowances to security personnel in the State to the tune of N208 million.
The governor said in addition to 10 units of Armoured Personnel Carriers APCs, 65 branded Hilux vehicles, 700 motorcycles, surveillance drones, a communication network, trackers, and other related working materials at a total cost of approximately N11 billion were also procured.
In line with the strategy for community participation in the fight against insecurity, the State engaged 918 Local Government security committee members and 9,747 ward security committee members.
While he expressed satisfaction with ongoing efforts to tackle insecurity, he said; "We have drastically reduced the areas colonized by bandits and returned many communities to normalcy. 565 kidnapped victims have been rescued and reunited with their families.
"Thirty five armed bandits have been neutralized by law enforcement, over 300 assorted arms, and over 1000 ammunition have been recovered. We have also recovered motorcycles, vehicles, and a J5 bus from bandits during operations.
"This is in addition to many we have destroyed as we proactively dismantle this axis of evil. We have also arrested 363 bandits and subjected them to our fair judicial system.
"I want to reiterate that in our fight against insecurity we have maintained very high professionalism, abided by the rule of law, respect for human rights, and complied with global best practices.
"We also established a committee on encroached cattle routes and grazing reserves to checkmate farmers-herders conflict.
"Furthermore, a joint Security Operations Communication Centre was established to improve intelligence gathering and assist security agencies in carrying out operations in all the security flashpoints in the State", he added.
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