A former Special Adviser to a former Bello Masari on Security Matters, Ibrahim Ahmad, has said that the bandits launching attacks in Katsina State may be taking advantage of the mindset of the residents.
He stated this on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, where he also said that the bandits were interfering with the peaceful co-existence in the state.
“What we are facing in Katsina is actually community banditry that needs a whole society approach to understand the dynamics of the problem, because the way things are going now, it appears as if these bandits have understood the psychology of the people and are cashing in on that and have now crossed all the boundaries of our peaceful co-existence.
” These bandits are from the affected communities. That’s one thing we should understand. They are known by members of the communities, and from the information we are getting, it appears it was a reprisal, “said Ahmad.
READ ALSO:  , UPDATED: Katsina Mosque Attack Death Toll Rises To 32
The former aide, who noted that the security agents were overwhelmed, said the situation required a roundtable discussion to get to the root of the problem and tackle it squarely.
Ahmad said”, So I think what we need to do is to understand the dynamic of the threat, involve the communities who are concerned in addressing this problem because one, the security forces, as I understood, are overwhelmed.
“They’re trying their best to see that they overcome this situation, but unfortunately, you know, the number of security forces is not enough. And you know, the dynamics of the crime are widening by the day.
” So we need a whole society approach. Let members of the communities be involved, especially in what the state government is doing now by enhancing community policing, involving community watch, and using members of the communities to assist in fighting this crime and criminality.
“And above all, I think some of the local governments have started reaching out to the bandits, dialoguing with them to understand what the actual factors responsible for this are, because I think if we continue to fight this problem without understanding the factors responsible, we’ll be moving in reverse gear”.
Gunmen had reportedly stormed a mosque in the Malumfashi Local Government Area of the state on Tuesday during the early morning (Fajr) prayers and opened fire on the worshippers.
On Wednesday, the state government said that the , death toll , from the attack had risen to 32.
Source: Channels TV
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