It will take decades to end banditry in the North – Sultan of Sokoto

The President General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, and Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Saad Abubakar III, on Monday said it will take decades for the North-West to overcome banditry and insecurity.

Abubakar spoke at the North-West Peace and Security Summit in Katsina State.

“What we must do is to challenge these bandits because we all know the consequences of banditry and insurgency on our lives.

“But it will take decades to get out of it if all we get out of it. We all know the consequences and the problems,” he said.

The monarch expressed the readiness of traditional rulers to partner with security agencies and Northern governors to “save our region from the numerous problems” of banditry and insurgency.

He believed that at the end of the summit, proposals to bring insurgency to the barest minimum for people to go about their lives and businesses would be arrived at.

In the last few years, bandits have been on the prowl in Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Kano and Jigawa states.

Thousands of people, mostly vulnerable persons, have been killed and displaced by the bloodthirsty marauders who mostly disguise as herders.