Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State has denied reports that he claimed to end banditry in the state within four days.
Matawalle refuted the claim in a statement signed by the Director-General, media and public enlightenment, Government House, Hon. Yusuf Idris Gusau and made available to newsmen in Gusau, the state capital.
According to the Zamfara governor, he was quoted out of context during a visit by the All Progressives Governors Forum led by the forum chairman and governor of Kebbi State, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu.
The statement read, ”Governor Matawalle told the governors that in the next four days, he will hold a meeting with all stakeholders in the state in order to review his administration’s fight against armed bandits and assured that the outcome of the meeting will bring a new way to end banditry in the state.
“There was nowhere in his speech that he mentioned or promised to end banditry within four days as mischievously reported by some conventional media for reasons known to them.
“We are appealing to journalists in the state to always clarify their story before going to press.”
Some students of the Federal University of Agriculture in Makurdi (FUAM), the Benue State capital, have been kidnapped by unknown gunmen.
In a statement on Monday by the Director of Information, Protocol and Public Relations Unit (IPPR), Rosemary Waku, the school management confirmed that the incident occurred on Sunday night.
According to the institution’s PRO, the gunmen took an unspecified number of students away at gunpoint on campus after shooting sporadically.
Confirming the incident, state Police Public Relations Officer, Catherine Anene, said three students of the institution were kidnapped on their university campus.