Zamfara State Governor Muhammed Matawalle, has debunked allegations that mining is responsible for banditry and other security challenges in the state.
Matawalle made the assertion while presenting a paper titled, ‘The Fight Against Banditry: Challenges and Solutions,’ at an event in Kaduna.
The Governor was represented by the Commissioner for Information, Ibrahim Magaji.
He said that, bandits’ activities in Shinkafi and Zurmi Local Government areas have remained the hotbed, even when there weren’t mining activities in these local councils.
He said that, rural banditry in Zamfara and other parts of the North, is a result of the progressive degradation of moral standards, and a culture of greed, fed by an unfettered need for material things.
The governor, therefore, advised the region to wake up and unite to combat banditry, rather than be deceitful and politicizing the situation.
Edited by Tunde Orebiyi.
