Dikko Radda, the governor of Katsina State, has stated that people should be permitted to purchase firearms such as AK-47s and RPGs to protect themselves.
He argued that governors should not be held accountable for the security difficulties plaguing their states, pointing out that while they are known as chief security officers, they lack the power to direct the military, police, and other security organizations to address security issues in their states.
Governor Radda stated that his administration had officially established a “community watch corps” to deal with banditry in conjunction with the military in his request for the federal government to take a more significant role in the security of lives and property in the nation.
The governor stressed that his administration would stop at nothing to ensure that bandits were defeated during a media meeting on Friday in Abuja, calling them “hardened criminals” who must be eradicated from Katsina.
He stated that some traditional leaders in the state were being investigated for their alleged “romance” with bandits and emphasized that anyone discovered to be an associate or sponsor of bandits would not be spared, regardless of their position.
“We governors are supposed to be the chief security officers of our states, but we don’t have the power to order the armed forces, police, or civil defense,” he remarked. From above, they receive directives.
“As a result of our efforts, the Katsina Community Watch Corps has an intelligence division. Even the corps members in this intelligence team are unfamiliar with them. It was established in order to monitor the Watch Corps’ excesses and to gather data.
