The Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday vowed to take strict action against bandits who are a threat to the nation’s food security, reported All Africa.
President Buhari said his administration will use all available resources and manpower to deal with bandits terrorizing Nigerians across the nation.
Notably, many states in the North-west and North-central regions have suffered attacks by bandits who kill and kidnap innocent people. Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, and Niger are among the worst affected states.
In his speech in Abuja after observing the Islamic Eid prayer marking the end of Ramadan on Thursday, the president linked the activities of the bandits to food security.
The Nigerian president said he will ensure that the bandits do not create havoc against access to farms and food production in the coming growing season.
“The President emphatically said that the menace of bandits and kidnappers will be addressed to ensure that the nation’s food security is not threatened,” said Mallam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, in a statement.
Buhari said the law enforcement agencies are working hard to regain confidence against bandits to get back to the captured land to grow enough food for the country and even export. He mentioned the ongoing efforts undertaken by the administration to tackle the security situation in the country.
The president drew attention to the series of long meetings held in recent weeks, chaired by him saying that a part of resolutions had been made public by the National Security Adviser and the others kept secret.
He further made an appeal to the Nigerians for more understanding of the current situation in the country.
“With the resources and manpower available to us, we are working very hard. We are hoping Nigerians will understand the problem. Nigerians know at what stage we came in 2015, what state we are today both on security and the economy and we are doing our best,” the Nigerian president said.
