The Katsina State government says the new approach to tackling banditry adopted by the government has been recording successes as peace was returning to the state.

Ibrahim Ahmad-Katsina, the Special Adviser to Governor Aminu Masari on Security Matters, said on Friday that part of the strategy is building people’s confidence to confront the bandits or report to security agencies without fear.

“We have realised that what we are facing in Katsina is community banditry; most of the bandits and their locations are known,” Mr Ahmad-Katsina told journalists.

“We understood the dynamics of the threats, which made it easier for us to deal with the problem and identify the factors responsible and what needs to be done to nip the problem in the bud,” the governor’s aide added.

Enunciating on the confidence building strategy, Mr Ahmad-Katsina said “We first reached out to the communities and developed their capacity in intelligence gathering, community policing, and community effort.”

He added that the state government had trained 1,100 highly-educated community vigilante corps, assisting their communities in surviving.

Mr Ahmad-Katsina pointed out that through this approach, members of various banditry-affected communities have risen to their responsibilities by not waiting for the security forces.

“We have already commenced the Ruga project in Katsina State, taking development to the forest areas and hinterlands, areas that were hitherto inaccessible are now accessible,” the official shared.

Katsina, the home state to president Muhammadu Buhari, is one of the worst hit northwestern states constantly pillaged by daredevil criminals. Despite the government’s parleys, bandit kingpins have reneged on fulfilling their pact for amnesty.

Mr Ahmad-Katsina claims some bandits have now reached out to the government, indicating interest in embracing peace.

“And let me share something with you, even the bandit leaders are now laying down their arms, reaching out to us; they want a robust peace agreement that is committed to by both sides,” he added.

On the 2023 elections, the special adviser assured that it would be held peacefully in all parts of the state.

“The present administration in the state will not hand over a hangover of threats, challenges or problems to the incoming government,” he added.