The Katsina Secretary to the Government of the State, Alhaji Mustapha Muhammad Inuwa has opened up for the first time on issues regarding the recent surge in insecurity in the state lamenting that majority of the repentant bandits betrayed the state government after the peace deal with them.

Dr Mustapha Inuwa made this revelation in an interview with Daily Trust recently.

Below is an excerpt from the interview:

Daily Trust: As the chairman of the security committee in Katsina State, how far have you gone in ensuring that the activities of bandits are drastically reduced, if not eradicated?

SGS, Mustapha Muhammad Inuwa: In terms of finances and our relationship with the so-called repentant bandits, the result is not what we want. Majority of them are not sincere in respecting the terms of the peace pact. They betray the government in various ways, as far as this agreement is concerned. It is only few of them you can trust. These are the issues, really.

My greatest issue now has to do with the so-called repentant bandits because we trusted them and supported them in various ways. In the end, they failed us.

Once you allow these people to possess firearms, there is no way they can stop these things. One person among them could have a battalion of 300 youths, all with firearms. Now, tell me how he can control them, even if you entered into an agreement with him.

They are used to getting money through the rustling of animals or kidnapping. When they claim to have stopped their nefarious activities, what do they get? Do they continue selling the already stolen animals for survival or what? And you cannot continue to maintain him with 300, 200 or 50 people, depending on the strength and availability of the firearms they have.

So, honestly, I believe the peace pact between the Katsina State Government and the bandits was a temporary relief. The only permanent solution to this problem is to face them. Government should be decisive and ensure that they surrender all their firearms. And they cannot do this under the so-called peaceful arrangement.

They have to be forced to do it. The only way to achieve this is by allowing the military to engage them and deal with them decisively