The Governor of Katsina State, Dikko Radda, has said there are moles within the government, security agencies, and local communities who supply information to bandits, aiding them in carrying out criminal activities in the state.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Channels Television, Governor Radda explained that the fight against insecurity is being undermined by individuals who leak critical security information to bandits.
He specifically mentioned a notorious bandit identified simply as Mohammed, narrating how informants within government circles and communities allegedly provide him with intelligence that helps him evade arrest.
“This notorious person that is disturbing us — we know him. He is Mohammed; that is his name. Everybody knows him. His father, his mother, and his grandfather were born there. But the problem we have is the community. The communities are not giving the right information. I can say that, in a way, some of them are helping him.
“It is not a hidden thing because he gets information. The day I called for a high-level security meeting here at the state government on how to operate and deal with the situation, five minutes after the meeting, he already knew what we had discussed.
“There are moles giving him information among us. In fact, he has even developed a new strategy where he incites villages to protest against the government so they can pressure the government not to pursue him.
“And whenever there is information about an attack and security operatives move to the area, the moles within the community will call and inform him that security personnel are coming and which route they are taking, allowing them to lay ambushes for the security operatives,” Governor Radda said.
He added, “So, this is the kind of situation we are in. There are moles among us, moles among the security agencies, and moles among the communities.”
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Speaking on negotiations with bandits, despite opposition to the idea by some governors, Radda explained that although he personally does not support negotiating with bandits, some communities requested permission to engage them in dialogue.
He said he allowed the communities to proceed because they believed it would bring peace.
According to him, local governments that entered into peace agreements with bandits have not recorded attacks since then.
“I was the one who initially took the position against negotiating with bandits. But when the situation became unbearable, the communities approached me and said, ‘Your Excellency, we have met with these people, they are ready to lay down their arms, and we have suffered so much without getting the protection we need from security agencies. Please allow us to negotiate with them if it can bring peace.’
“I told them they could go ahead, but I would not be part of it. So they proceeded.
As I speak with you today, there are some local governments that entered into peace negotiations with bandits, and for over a year, there have been no attacks in those places. We now have peace in most of the local governments where these incidents used to occur.
“I allowed them because that was what they wanted, and I am a governor based on the people’s mandate. Who am I to reject what they want, as long as it can bring the result we need? What we want is peace,” he said.
Governor Radda, however, maintained that he would not personally initiate negotiations with bandits. He added that if they approached him for peace talks, he would be willing to negotiate, but only from a position of strength rather than weakness.
