The Katsina Emirate Council has suspended Yusuf Lawal as the district head of Kankara for allegedly sponsoring the activities of bandits in the region.

The suspension followed widespread insecurity in President Muhammadu Buhari’s home state.

In a statement seen by Peoples Gazette on Sunday, Katsina Emirate’s secretary Iro Bindawa said Mr Lawal’s immediate suspension followed residents’ complaints of his villainous activities.

The secretary added that the fate of the district head will be decided after investigations had been concluded. It was unclear whether or not Mr Lawal had been handed over to the police. A spokesman for the police in Katsina did not return a request seeking comments.

Katsina, which is Mr Buhari’s home state, and other northern states have remained a hotspot for kidnapping and banditry in Nigeria.

In December 2020, 344 students were abducted from a Katsina boarding school. The event happened at Government Science Secondary School, Kankara. The students were freed after negotiations with the federal government that reportedly included a significant ransom.

Jihadist group Boko Haram, while claiming responsibility for the abduction, said the attack was carried out to rein in un-Islamic practices in the school, especially Western education.

Amidst the fear of bandits attacking schools, Governor Aminu Masari, in March, ordered all boarding schools shut. Mr Masari’s administration also announced plans to deploy security dogs to protect school children in state-owned boarding schools.