Northern governments seek an end to kidnapping, banditry, and others

On Friday, in Kaduna, the capital of Kaduna State, the governors of the nineteen states in the north got together in what is officially known as the Northern Governors’ Forum.

An accidental airstrike killed multiple people in Tudun Biri, Igabi LGA of the state; the Nigerian Army claimed responsibility. The governors met to talk about security, agriculture, and oil exploration in the area. They also wanted to commiserate with Uba Sani, the governor of Kaduna, over the tragedy.

The governors’ first gathering since becoming governors in the general election of May 2023 was the meeting being held by the state governor.

Deputy governors from Jigawa, Bauchi, Kano, Yobe, and Kwara states were present at the meeting in lieu of their respective governors, while Governor Dikko Radda of Katsina State was also present.

Speaking to his colleagues, Alhaji Muhammad Yahaya, the Chairman of the Forum and helmsman of Gombe State, condemned the accidental bombing of the Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State. He also noted that the regional governors needed to do more to combat the insecurity that was affecting the region.

Regional governors must do more to eradicate the kidnappings, banditry, communal confrontations, and terrorism plaguing the North, according to the governor, who praised the federal government’s efforts to combat instability.

He maintained that the region’s progress and prosperity depended on resolving issues of insecurity and others.

He assured everyone that the forum he was leading was doing its best to investigate the Tudun Biri event fully and not ignore it.

He explained that this was done to make sure the victims got their money back and that it wouldn’t happen again.

The victims of the bombing in Tudun Biri, Nigeria, who were innocent bystanders to the Nigerian Army’s ill-planned actions, have my deepest sympathies, he said.

I want you to know that every governor in the north is working tirelessly to get to the bottom of this tragic event so that the victims can get their money back and nothing bad happens again.

“While we applaud the federal government’s efforts to combat insecurity, as governors of northern states, we are of the belief that additional measures are necessary to eradicate the terror, kidnapping, banditry, and communal confrontations that plague our area.”

While expressing his concern over the recent surge of insecurity in the North, Chief Host Governor Uba Sani urged the formation of a Command and Control Centre to facilitate coordinated efforts to combat terrorism and related crimes in the area.

The victims of the unintentional bombing at Tudun Biri village, in the Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, have received a donation of N180 million from the governors of the 19 northern states.

At the inaugural gathering, the Forum’s chairman—also the governor of Gombe state—and his colleagues made the announcement, and the chairman handed a symbolic cheque to Governor Sani.