Masari Decries Chieftaincy Installation of Terrorist Kingpin in Zamfara

* Vows to arrest him for killing Katsina residents

* Insists govt has not forgiven him

Francis Sardauna in Katsina 

The Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, has expressed sadness over the installation of a notorious terrorist kingpin, Adamu Aliero, as the Sarkin Fulanin Yandoto by the suspended Emir of Birnin Yandoto in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

Masari, in an interview with BBC Hausa Tuesday, said the state government and police operatives were hunting for the terror leader who had been on police wanted list for the past two years.

The Katsina State Police Command had in June, 2020 declared Aliero wanted for masterminding the attack on Kadisau village in Faskari Local Government Area of the state which led to the killing of over 52 people.

It pledged a bounty of N5,000,000 on his head for anybody with useful information that could lead to his arrest either dead or alive.

The wanted terrorist kingpin was recently installed as the Sarkin Fulanin Yandoto by the Emir of Birnin Yandoto, Alhaji Aliyu Garba Marafa, which led to his immediate suspension by Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle.

But Masari, during the interview, explained that the Katsina State Government has not forgiven the notorious terrorist, adding that the government would work with security agencies to arrest the hoodlum.

He insisted that even if Aliero accepts to live peacefully with the farming communities in Zamfara, his government still considers him a terrorist and would do everything humanly possible to arrest him to face the wrath of the law for the crimes he had committed.

The governor wondered why a criminal who has been on a wanted list of security operatives for years would be conferred with a chieftaincy title after killing innocent citizens in communities across Zamfara and Katsina States.

He reiterated that some terrorists recruited by Aliero were still killing, kidnapping and raping residents of Katsina State in villages and communities that bordered Zamfara State.

He said: “It is surprising because Katsina and Zamfara are the same. If a neighbour doesn’t support his neighbour, do you think he would be supported in his time of travail? So, it surprised me how they looked away from the travail of their neighbour (Katsina). 

“It affected them too because a traitor, when he is done with your enemy, would turn towards you. We’ve not forgiven him and just as the police in Katsina said, they are still looking for him. For me, the one I have business with is the governor (Matawalle).

“I tried reaching out to him but he is not around and I did not get him. The police command here (Katsina) has the responsibility to reach out to the police in Zamfara to know what’s actually going on.

“The only issue is that the police in Katsina can’t go to Zamfara and arrest him. So, if he dares enter Katsina again, we will arrest him so that he can answer for his crimes. Even if they said he has stopped, we know that here in Katsina, he is still killing people; his boys are still killing people.”