Bandits have taken over 12 local government areas in Niger State.
The state governor, Abubakar Sani-Bello said this during his visit to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at the Central Primary School, Gwada, adding that no fewer than seven communities had been submerged by flooding in the Shiroro LGA due to the ongoing construction of the Zungeru hydro-electric power station in the state.
Sympathising with the displaced persons, Sani-Bello said, “We have almost 4,000 IDPs displaced by banditry and the construction of Zungeru dam.”
According to him, “some communities have been flooded and are underwater and have left, while they have not been paid compensation.”
Concerned about “the influx of bandits and Boko Haram elements in and out of Shiroro Local Government Area,” the governor said, “They have continued to detonate improvised explosive devices in Galadima-kogo.”
The governor noted that about 12 local government areas in the state were being occupied by bandits, adding that security agencies were using new tactics and strategies to neutralise them, adding that the bandits are taking advantage of the size of the state and few security officers on the ground.
On the flooding, Mr Sani-Bello said the federal government had made provisions for the affected communities to move to higher grounds, maintaining that he would liaise with the federal ministry of works and housing to hasten the release of funds to relocate and compensate those affected.
The governor also visited Mararaban Dan-danu in Munya LGA, where he interacted with vigilantes and hunters, promising them more sophisticated weapons to combat banditry.