Zamfara governor Bello Matawalle has suspended the district head of Badarawa in Shinkafi emirate, Surajo Namakkah, for conferring a title on a military officer arrested for selling ammunition to bandits. He said the state would not tolerate anything capable of destroying the hard-earned peace of Zamfara. The indefinite suspension was announced on Friday by Yusuf Idris, director-general of media to the state government. The governor pledged to ensure that anybody found wanting in anyway will be dealt with accordingly. Matawalle warned that henceforth traditional rulers must seek approval before conferring traditional titles, to avoid unnecessary embarrassment to government and the traditional institution. According to the governor, the military officer was recently arrested in possession of 20 rounds of 62mm live ammunition. The suspect was said to be at the point of handing over the ammunition to one Kabiru Bashiru of Maniya village, Shinkafi Emirate, and had allegedly collected an advance payment of N100,000 from bandits. The governor commended security agencies for arresting one Dr Kamarawa who was in possession of four sets of military camouflage and army identification card. He said that Kamarawa specialised in the supply of army uniforms and medicaments to bandits in Zamfara. Matawalle expressed sadness over the involvement of some irresponsible security personnel in banditry, saying it would sabotage ongoing operations and make it impossible to end banditry in the country. “The nation will not defeat the criminals with such bad eggs within the security architecture,” he added. (NAN)

Six people were killed while three others were injured on Thursday night in an attack by gunmen at Wereng community in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State. The attack occurred days after eight people who were mining at a neighbouring Kuru community were killed in the same council area. The latest attack in Wereng community also came a few days after gunmen attacked Ndar community in Bokkos LGA and abducted four varsity students who were later rescued. The lawmaker representing Riyom LGA in the state House of Assembly, Timothy Dantong confirmed the killing of six of his constituents to our correspondent in Jos on Friday. The lawmaker said, “We have been hearing that they will be an attack in the community but the people went about their normal business because they did nothing wrong. But I just woke up this morning (Friday) to hear of the killing of six of my people by gunmen who attacked Wereng community last night (Thursday). “When I made inquiries, I discovered that the armed attackers actually came around 10pm and killed six people while three others who were injured during the attack have been rushed to the hospital. “Right now, the people are digging the graves to bury those who were killed in the attack.” The lawmaker who condemned the killings said that the matter had been reported to the police and other law enforcement agents. The Police Public Relations Officer in Plateau State, Ubah Ogaba when contacted, requested more time to get details on the latest incident The PUNCH had reported that Governor Simon Lalong had directed security agents to tighten security across all the 17 local government areas to guarantee the safety of lives and property in the state.

The Zamfara police command has arrested seven security operatives for allegedly supplying arms, ammunition, and military kits to bandits in the state. Ibrahim Dosara, Zamfara commissioner for information, who disclosed this at a media briefing on Thursday, said the suspects were arrested in various communities across the state. Items recovered from the suspects include military bulletproof vests, jungle boots, shin guards, identity card, camouflage uniforms, among others. “I wish to inform you that the state government has just received a report from the police on the arrest of seven security agents involved in aiding and abetting banditry activities across the state,” he said. “The suspects, who have already been interrogated and confessed to their respective crimes, have since the commencement of the military operations in the state in recent past, been sabotaging the operations by sharing military intelligence, supplying arms and ammunition, military uniforms and other facilities to the armed bandits to prevent our gallant soldiers from conquering the bandits. “This is why it took the Nigerian military and other security agencies fighting the bandits that long to defeat them. The suspects have already been handed over to their appropriate security authorities for further necessary actions. “We feel obliged not to disclose their identities, as the security authorities concerned are acting on the matter.” He, however, urged the federal government to come through on the promise to deploy additional security forces to the state. “Zamfara state government is appealing to the president and commander-in-chief of the Nigeria armed forces to redeem his pledge on the deployment of 6,000 troops to the state to clear the recalcitrant bandits terrorising various communities of our dear state,” Dosara said. “The state government also wants to urge the military authorities to embark on active supervision and monitoring of the military operations to ensure synergy and effectiveness.” The development comes weeks after an officer of the Nigerian army was arrested for supplying ammunition and uniforms to bandits in Zamfara.