Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State on Wednesday said he was helpless with the insecurity in the state, saying only state police could adequately address the resurgence of insecurity in the country.
The governor stated this in Jalingo during a chat with journalists shortly after he inaugurated the distribution of fertilizers, seedlings and agro-chemicals for Taraba farmers for the 2019 farming season.
Ishaku, who called on the residents to pray to God for peace in the state, said, “If any governor tells you that he will do anything about insecurity, such a governor is lying. As governors we don’t have control over the police or the army and virtually there is nothing we can do about security.
“We have been calling for the establishment of state police, but nobody seems to consider our position, but state police remains the only viable option to contain insecurity across the country now.
“The constitution does not place the security architecture of the country in the hands of governors. I am praying myself for peace and I have also asked the people of the state to pray for peace in the state,” he said.
Ishaku said he would use the next four years to consolidate on his achievements in the first term and boost the economy of the state through agriculture.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari was said to have been shocked on Wednesday over the news of fresh killing of 34 persons in his Katsina home state by bandits.
Upon receiving the report on the attacks, he directed the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu, and the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin, to “constitute an assessment team to intervene immediately in the state, and bring feedback.”
A Presidency statement on Wednesday in Abuja said Buhari assured the people of his state that the Federal Government would restore peace in the affected communities.
Residents protesting the killings had taken the remains of about 20 of the victims to the Government House in Katsina on Tuesday and the Palace of the Emir of Katsina.
The Presidency’s reaction, in the statement signed by Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, read partly, “President Buhari, specifically, instructed the security chiefs to find out how the operation was carried out by the perpetrators, not minding the ongoing Ramadan fasting, and put in place structures to prevent future occurrence.
“The President, who has been briefed on the criminal and political intents of the attacks in Katsina and other parts of the North, described the carnage as senseless.
“President Buhari said all those instigating violence in the North and other parts of the country would be exposed and made to face the wrath of the law.”
Also, the senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, has lamented the increasing rate of banditry in the country, saying “danger is still living with us.”
The lawmaker said this on the floor of the Senate in reaction to an attack of a church in his constituency on Sunday.
He said, “Last Sunday, gunmen stormed a church in the outskirts of my constituency and took away the pastor and other worshippers and they still have not been traced.
“These are parts of the problems that we continually face but I must appreciate the Inspector-General of Police for the raid on the hideouts of these criminals along the Abuja-Kaduna Road and weapons and ammunition that have been seized.
“Still, danger is still living with us. Some issues will not go away by wishes; they will go only by action. In relation to that is what has happened yesterday in Katsina State where there were gunmen attacks in three local governments and video clips of Nigerians moving towards Niger Republic as IDPs.
“This is the low we have become as a nation and I believe we should not get tired of bringing these issues.”
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