Zamfara Governor Dauda Lawal has said insecurity in his state has been politicised, accusing security agencies of failing to show up after distress calls during bandits’ attacks because they have not received an order from Abuja.

Mr Lawal, in a viral video that emerged on the internet on Wednesday, said that though he knows the hideout of bandits terrorising Zamfara, he lacks the constitutional power to mobilise security agencies to neutralise rampaging bandits.

“I can tell you the whereabouts of every bandit kingpin in Zamfara, even with my phone. I can point to you where they are right now. But I do not control security agencies, and that is the problem,” Mr Lawal lamented.

He added, “The politicisation of insecurity is not hurting me as a person; it is destroying Zamfara. Some people do not want us to succeed, but I will not stop trying.”

Citing an instance when security agencies refused to show up despite his calls, Mr said, “There was a time, the bandits invaded Shinkafi local government, and I was sitting here when the security operatives were alerted, but they refused to go to Shinkafi simply because they were not given orders from Abuja. This is the problem we are facing, but we trust God, and surely, He will come to our rescue.”

Zamfara has been a hotbed of mass kidnapping and killings in recent years.

In July, human rights organisation Amnesty International said incessant “violent attacks and abductions in Zamfara are making life hell for villagers,” lamenting “the slaughter of 38 people kidnapped by bandits from Banga village of Kauran Namoda LGA.”

According to the rights organisation, no part of Zamfara State has been safe since at least 2018. Across the state, multiple attacks sometimes take place in a single day, while major highways in the state, linking urban areas and villages, are controlled by bandits.

Lamenting the failure of the government to secure life and property, Amnesty International said, “In the last two years, over 273 people have been killed and 467 people abducted. Since the beginning of the bloody security crisis, bandits have sacked 481 villages, while 529 villages are under the full control of bandits across 13 local governments.”