The Acting Governor of Niger State, Comrade Yakubu Garba, has appealed to the military to redeploy its personnel to Allawa and other adjoining communities in the Shiroro Local Government Area of the state.
This appeal follows a deadly attack by gunmen on the Anguwan Mai-Giro community on Wednesday, resulting in the loss of 13 lives in the council.
Garba made the call during the three-day Islamic prayers for the victims in Kuta, Shiroro LGA.
According to him, the withdrawal of military personnel from Allawa and other communities has significantly set back the state government’s efforts to combat the security challenges facing the state.
He explained, “I want to appeal to our military to see reasons to return to Allawa and other vulnerable areas to provide full security coverage to our people, who are predominantly farmers.”
“The Bago-led administration has deployed strategies to end insecurity. The notion that the present government is not making efforts to address insecurity is a fallacy aimed at blackmailing the government.”
The Acting Governor also clarified that, contrary to misinformation, those killed in the attacks were heading to their farms when they met their end, not in an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp.
Garba said, “Those holding such notions or making insinuations are entitled to their opinions because we are in a democratic era. However, these opinions do not reflect the true picture of events.”
“Such statements are political, and no one should play politics with issues of insecurity or matters concerning the lives of the people.”
Recall that military personnel were withdrawn from the area five months ago, leaving the farming community vulnerable to increased banditry attacks.