Notorious bandits who enjoyed the amnesty programme of the Katsina State governor, Aminu Bello Masari, organized the abduction of secondary school children in the state last week, a top security source has informed Dateline Nigeria.
Governor Masari, in 2016, pardoned a number of bandits operating in the state as a measure to bring lasting peace in Katsina.
Last week, the country was thrown into a state of shock after hundreds of students in Government Science Secondary School Kankara were taken from the hostels by gunmen.
About 344 of the students were located six days after in a forest in neighbouring Zamfara State before their release to government officials after a negotiation spearheaded by the governments of both Zamfara and Katsina states.
The highly placed security source disclosed to Dateline Nigeria that the masterminds of the attack on the school had been in the custody of a security outfit until they were ordered to be set free in the spirit of the state government’s “unnecessary amnesty” programme.
He said some of them were apprehended in Katsina and others in Kano by the security agency. But when Masari entered into an agreement with bandits and granted them pardon, the suspects were assembled in Katsina and released, he added.
Giving details of the amnesty beneficiaries who also played a role in the abduction of the students, he said they comprised Amadun Daudawa, Gurgu Dankarami and Dogo Na Ali.
“Some of them were in our hands and when the state governor proclaimed amnesty for the bandits, we took about 30 of the so-called repentant bandits to our headquarters in Abuja where a meeting was held with them,” he said.
The official recalled that among the bandits were women.
“After their release, some of them fled elsewhere and others returned to the bush and continued terrorizing the state,” he said.
“Some of those bandits should not have even been considered for the amnesty but the government insisted,” he said.
In November, 26 girls who were abducted from Faskari Local Government in Katsina State by bandits, were rescued from a forest in Zamfara State by the state governor.
Governor Masari had, early this year, vowed never to give amnesty to bandits in the state again. He told the BBC in an interview in June that some bandits who were pardoned under the programme, reneged the agreement they entered with government and continued to perpetrate evil activities in the state.
Dateline Nigeria also reports that when the Katsina government granted amnesty to the bandits, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu supported the decision, saying “it is not new. and such negotiations will bring peace.”
As part of the conditions for the amnesty, local vigilantes were banned across the state, a decision that critics said removed the little protection rural communities had against the marauding criminals.
“Now, some communities in Katsina only exist on maps but they are no more on ground because of the activities of bandits,” the security source added, without however providing names and other details of such communities.
Speaking on the negative effect of a similar amnesty programme for bandits in Zamfara State, the source said they now enjoy a free reign, to the extent that they can harass security men.
“They now kidnap children from Katsina and take them to their hideouts in Zamfara. If security agencies challenge them, they will tell security men that “Didn’t you know that the governor has drawn a line between us ordered that we should not be touched?” he said.
How amnesty idea was sold to us – Katsina govt
Reacting, the Secretary to the Katsina State Government (SSG), Dr. Mustapha Inuwa, told Dateline Nigeria that the state is more than ever determined to end banditry and related crimes being perpetrated by the bandits.
He said the idea of amnesty came from some security chiefs and the state accepted to give it a try only grudgingly because “we are determined to end this criminality”.
“This is why the governor discontinued because we were betrayed. Even when the amnesty was offered, not all the bandits accepted it. Some accepted it but reneged. In fact some of those who accepted the amnesty were targeted and killed.
“You know the bandits have different groups scattered in different locations. They move from one state to another anytime you target them. So you have to be on the same page. If you are embarking on an operation, it has to be done simultaneously in all the affected areas.
“If you are talking about amnesty, it has to be done from the position of strength and on government’s own terms. It also has to be holistic. For instance, if you are banning motorcycles or border markets it should be done simultaneously in all the states.
“Also you can’t be talking about amnesty when people are keeping their weapons. All weapons must be surrendered for amnesty to work. Because as long as bandits have weapons, amnesty will not work. So the security agents are seeing all these and they should be able to respond accordingly,” he said.
Amnesty for bandits is working for us – Zamfara govt
For his part, the Zamfara State Commissioner for Information and Culture, Suleiman Tunau Anka, denied that the amnesty programme was providing a hideout for bandits in the state, claiming that the amnesty is working perfectly well.
“You can see how His Excellency, the governor, assisted in the release of the kidnapped Kankara students. It was this dialogue with the repentant bandits that resulted in the release of those students. Even the president commended Bello Matawalle for the role he played. So it is not true to say that Zamfara is providing safe haven for bandits,” he said.
