From Umar Danladi Ado, Sokoto
The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, has arrived in Sokoto to oversee the ongoing efforts to combat armed banditry in the Northwest region of Nigeria.
This visit is part of Matawalle’s plan to sustain the success achieved by troops of Operation Hadarin Daji and explore new strategies to eliminate insecurity in the zone.
Matawalle emphasized that the fight against insecurity requires collective action, beyond government efforts, involving stakeholders, including journalists.
He urged the media to refrain from giving excessive publicity to bandits’ activities, which often boosts their morale to attack.
The Minister expressed his commitment to ascertaining the level of success achieved so far and potentially changing tactics.
He commended Governor Ahmed Aliyu of Sokoto State for supporting security agents and encouraged other governors in the Northwest region to provide logistics support.
Matawalle’s efforts align with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive to relocate to Sokoto and flush out bandits in the North West.
The Minister had previously directed the Chief of Defence Staff and other military chiefs to join him in Sokoto to intensify the fight against banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism.
He calls for a collective action devoid of any political, ethnic or religion affiliation when dealing with issues related to insecurity.
He however commend the governor of Sokoto State, Ahmed Aliyu, for the support giving to the security agents especially troops of operations Hadarin Daji in their operations.
He further called on other governors in the country, especially from the Northwest region, to emulate the governor of Sokoto State by giving logistics support to the security agents in their respective states.
