Insecurity: Radda leads Katsina delegation to Tinubu
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered immediate security reinforcement in Katsina State following sustained attacks, killings and abductions by bandits.
The President gave the directive after a meeting with a high-level delegation from the state, led by Governor Dikko Umaru Radda.
The delegation had solicited for urgent federal intervention to tackle the increasing insecurity in the State..
The President directed security agencies to review their strategies, deploy additional drones, assets and troops to tackle the escalating banditry head-on.
“Today, I have directed all the security agencies to energize further, to look at the strategy again. Additional deployment of air drones, and if they have to shift movement in between Katsina and other boundary areas, they should do so. And they are going to give me a feedback by tomorrow,” Tinubu told the delegation.
He also acknowledged the severity of the security challenges facing the country.
“What is happening in the country, the security challenges that we have is insurmountable. Yes, we have a very poor border. We inherited the weaknesses which would have been conquered and buried earlier on. But it is a challenge that we have got to face, and we are facing it.”
The President assured the delegation that ground troops would intensify operations to eliminate the criminal elements.
“The ground troops are there. We will still smoke them out,” he said.
According to him, plans for the establishment state police is part of a holistic approach to security challenges in the country.
“We must protect our children, our people, our livelihood, our places of worship, our places of recreation. They can’t intimidate us,” stressed the President.
In his speech, Governor Radda expressed profound gratitude to President Tinubu for his open-door policy and unwavering support to Katsina State, noting that every request presented to the President had consistently received approval.
“Mr. President has truly shown himself as a son of Katsina. We remain grateful for the continued concern over our security challenges,” he added.
Earlier, the Emir of Katsina, represented by Wazirin Katsina, Senator Ibrahim Ida, urged the President to order greater synergy among security agencies and establish a military battalion alongside a mobile police squadron in the southern part of Katsina State.
He revealed that Katsina State Government had invested over N40 billion in providing security logistics and supporting federal troops agencies despite limited resources.
The Emir also appealed for federal support to victims of banditry attacks in the state.
The delegation included Deputy Governor Faruq Lawal Jobe; Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Nasir Yahaya Daura; former Governor Aminu Bello Masari; the three serving Senators from Katsina State and Members of the House of Representatives, Arch. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, and Hannatu Musa Musawa, Minister of Art, Culture, and the Creative Economy.
Also on the delegation are Hajia Hadiza Bala Usman, Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination; Jabiru Salisu Tsauri, National Coordinator AUDA-NEPAD Nigeria; state assembly members, Emir of Daura, Alhaji Umar Faruq Umar; an Islamic scholar, Malam Yakubu Musa, former deputy governor Tukur Jikamshi former, Malam Gambo Lawal, the Chief Imam of Katsina Central Mosque Katsina, and business tycoon Alhaji Dahiru Barau Mangal.
