11 kidnap victims, all tenaagers, have regained their freedom as part of the ongoing engagement with bandits in Katsina state.
10 of the teenagers are girls and one a boy. They were abducted from their homes 34 days ago. They were presented to Governor Aminu Bello Masari by the Caretaker Committee Chairman of Batsari Local Government area, Alhaji Mannir Muazu Ruma.
The latest release brings to 70, the total number of kidnapp victims who have so far regained freedom from the captivity of the bandits, some of whom are holed up in the expansive and hardly accessible Rugu forest.
Though deprived of freedom, the released abductees said that they were not ill treated by their captors, as they were fed three times a day with food cooked by the 10 girls among them.
The occasion coincided with the working visit to the Katsina State government house by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajamiala, who had moments earlier assured Governor Masari that the House would partner with the state to address the root causes of the security and other challenges the country is faced with.
Both the Speaker and Governor Masari were one in their conviction that as a united entity, the problems of one part of the country are problems for the whole of Nigeria.
They maintained that mutual understanding, not mutual suspicion would best serve the collective interest of all Nigerians without prejudice to religion, ethnicity or political party affiliation.
“Bandits and other criminals do not choose their victims based on our numerous fault lines, as they don’t consider the religion, ethnicity or political party affiliation of their intended victims before they strike”
“The issue of banditry and other security challenges has nothing to do with politics, religion or ethnicity, they are beyond that”, Governor Masari declared.
The Governor also attributed decades of neglect by successive administrations to the plight of the Fulani herdsmen.”Over the decades there have never been programmes designed to assist the Fulani normads, hence their retreat into the forest and resort to criminality, including cattle rusting, kidnap for ransom, arson, etc.
“There is also the issue of harassment, extortion, blackmail by security operatives, local vigilantes and Sharia court judges against the Fulani.
“Fundamentally, there must be a radical rethinking to address the problem of the Fulanis, with schools, clinics, water points, pastures, free cattle routes and the right of free movement guaranteed to them. If we do not do the right thing NOW, the problem may defy solution in the next 10 years or so” Governor Masari said, lamented that states do not have the resources to normalise the process without the assistance of the Federal government.
He therefore called for quick intervention to reverse the situation.