Bauchi Raises the Alarm over Influx of Bandits from Yobe

Bauchi Raises the Alarm over Influx of Bandits from Yobe

* Says 5 suspects arrested for vandalising communication mast in preparation for attack

By Segun Awofadeji

Bauchi State Government has raised the alarm over the influx of bandits from neighboring Yobe state. It said the bandits had infiltrated four local governments.

THISDAY reports that the gateway local government areas are Gamawa, Dambam, Darazo and Zaki, which are sharing boundaries with Yobe state and close to Geidam, recently seized by Boko Haram militants.

The government also announced the arrest of five bandits who vandalised a mast belonging to MTN in Gamawa local government area in their bid to launch attack.

The Secretary to the State Government (SSGl, Mohammed Sabiu Baba, while addressing journalists after an emergency security council meeting at the Government House on Monday said that, “following the overrunning of Geidam in Yobe state by the Boko Haram militants, there has been influx of people into the state through 4 LGAs in the Northern part of Bauchi State”.

The SSG alongside other heads of security agencies declared that, “this influx of the displaced people has put the state under security threat, our facilities are now overstretched and we are not comfortable with the development”.

He however said that security strategies had been developed to ensure that the threat did not turn into attack in the state, saying that, “profiling of all the people coming into Bauchi State particularly in the four affected LGAs will be done in order to discover those with dangerous weapons…”.

The SSG however assured that the state government will ensure that the joint operations of the security agencies will be intensified, particularly air surveillance around the affected LGAs.

While fielding questions from Journalists, the SSG said, “Some bandits have been arrested for vandalizing the MTN installation in Gamawa LGA with the intention of blocking communication in the area in preparation for attack”.

He further said that for now, the people were not camped in a particular area but moving around the fout LGAs and were harbored by residents of the communities, saying that security agencies will go round to fish them out.

As for the displaced persons, he assured that government officials will identify them in order to provide relief materials for their well-being because according to him, government will not just watch them suffer.

Related Articles