Katsina State governor, Aminu Bello Masari, has called on people in areas prone to banditry to acquire weapons and defend themselves against the bandits.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Governor’s Director-General (Media) Abdu Labaran Malumfashi.
In the statement, Governor Masari stated this in Jibia town yesterday, when he visited to condole with the people over the death of 10 people crushed on Monday by the operative of the Nigerian Customs Service who was driving an official vehicle with recklessness.
The Governor said it was morally wrong for people to submit meekly to the bandits without any attempt to defend themselves, noting that security is everybody’s business.
“It is the people’s meek submission that emboldens the bandits to continue with their heinous activities with murderous frequency”, he stated, adding that people must divorce their mind from the mistaken notion that security is the government’s sole responsibility”, the statement read in part.
He assured the people that the government was perusing all the necessary legal steps to seek redress for the families of the deceased, as well as those who sustained various degrees of injuries.
He added that legal experts had already been consulted to advise on the way forward to ensure speedy legal resolution of the matter.
