The Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, on Thursday said the state government will continue to negotiate with bandits to achieve peace in the state.
Matawalle stated this while he was visited by renowned Islamic Scholar, Ahmad Mahmud Gumi, at the Government House on Thursday.
The Zamfara Governor said his government will continue to negotiate with the bandits no matter what the opposition says.
Naija News had earlier reported that Gumi, who was in the state for a peace meeting with the gunmen, told the governor that “what is currently happening in Zamfara is insurgency and not banditry”.
The Islamic Scholar further stated that bandits have turned into insurgency following the bad treatment they experienced in the hands of the people of the state.
“In most of the bandits and Fulani camps we have visited in Zamfara, I come to understand that what is happening in the state is nothing but an insurgency.”
Gumi added that most of the bandits he met during his visit to the state forests are only carrying weapons and attacking people because of persistent attacks and harassment from the vigilante group known as the Yansakai.
He noted that the bandits are ready to surrender their weapons and embrace peace if the Yansakai stopped attacking and killing them.
Gumi lauded the Zamfara State Governor for introducing a platform to have a dialogue with the bandits as a means of ending banditry, he called on other governors to learn from him.
“Some people are of the view that the bandits should be fought and killed, but what we understand is that the majority of them are illiterates who need proper education and enlightenment,” he said.