Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State has admitted failing the people if the state in living up to his most basic responsibility, which is providing security for citizens of the state.
Despite the admission, the governor said nothing about resigning or making way for more competent hands.
Many parts of the state have been overrun by bandits.
Assessing himself, Masari said the people of the state had never had peace since he became the governor of the state.
The governor had signed a peace deal with the bandits in the past. It lasted only seven months.
He said, “I don’t know what to tell them. I cannot look at them in the face because we have failed to protect them, contrary to our pledge to ensure the security of lives and property throughout the state.”
He said, “I never expected the behaviour and the attitude of people living in the forests, the bandits, whose behaviour is worse than that of animals.”
He added, “What we see here is that bandits come to town, spray bullets, kill indiscriminately for no purpose and no reason whatsoever, like the recent massacre of people at Faskari and parts of Dandume local government area.
“They just killed the people. How can a human being behave the way an animal cannot behave?” “Our role is to complement efforts of the security agencies for which I believe we are doing nothing less than 90 per cent in terms of whatever is expected of us, based on resources available to us.”