Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State on Friday said bandits, terrorists, armed robbers and criminal herdsmen have infiltrated forests in the state.

Mr Ganduje made this statement in a press briefing after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa on the worrying security situation.

“We observed that the security situation now, our forests are the major problems, because they accommodate bandits, they accommodate terrorists, armed robbers, and herdsmen who are criminals,” Mr Ganduje said.

“I have requested Mr President to also establish another institution within that forest, and that forest will be liberated completely,” he added.

In February 2020, Mr Ganduje facilitated the citing of an army training camp in Falgore forest, bothering other states to the south. Mr Ganjude said the military presence has helped ward off criminals from the state.

“In that forest (Falgore), we established a military training ground in conjunction with the Army. And there’s a lot of military training going on in that forest using the facilities that we have provided.

“So, that is helping to checkmate the activities of bandits in that forest and I have requested Mr President to also establish another institution within that forest and that forest will be liberated completely,” the governor said.

He emphasised the need to establish another military base in the forest bordering Bauchi, Kaduna and Plateau, on the southeastern flank.

Kano, the most populous northern state, is critical to the development of the region, being the commercial capital of the North.

Mr Buhari lamented the spate of insecurity in the North-West region in a Facebook post on Friday.

“It is truly sad to see, in the North-West, people who have lived together for centuries and who share the same culture and outlook, resort to stealing, kidnapping and killing one another,” Mr Buhari said.

“But let me assure that the progress we are seeing in the North-East, in terms of security, will be replicated in the North-West,” he added.