We won’t stop killing bandits until govt protect us –Zamfara groups

The Secretary, Zamfara State Volunteers Groups Association, Alhaji Sani Labaran, has  said  the association  will  not stop killing   bandits  terrorising  the state unless stringent measures are  taken by the government to stop banditry in the state.

The  state government had warned volunteer groups against extrajudicial killings, vowing  to deal with anybody caught in the act.

But  Labaran, who on Friday  spoke during a meeting with the state  Commissioner of Police,  Mr Usman Nagogo, said no amount of persuasion or threat would make them  to drop their weapons and stop fighting bandits as long as the murderous gangsters   did not stop killing people in the state.

He said, “When the state government invited us for a reconciliation meeting, we wholeheartedly agreed to give up the fight against   bandits and also surrendered more than 9,000 weapons in anticipation that the bandits too would surrender theirs and embrace peace. But unfortunately, they have continued  to kill our people.

“We are going to defend ourselves and fight back, no matter what is going to happen.”

Labaran added, “It would be very unfair for the security agencies  to ask us to stop fighting  bandits while they cannot give us adequate protection.

“We will drop our weapons whenever the bandits are chased out of our state.”

Nagogo warned the volunteer groups against taking the law into their own hands by carrying arms and fighting criminals.