Banditry victims evicted from their villages to be resettled in six states across northern Nigeria

NIGERIA'S federal government has announced plans to resettle the victims of banditry in the country who have been forced to abandon their homes and villages by armed hoodlums in six states across northern Nigeria.

Over recent years, armed bandits have run riot in parts of the country, especially, Katsina, Zamfara and Kaduna states, there they have t5aken over entire communities in some instances. In many of these areas, the bandits are the de facto government as they impose taxes and when their demands are not met they raid villages, abducting people en mass.

Nigeria's information minister Alhaji Mohammed Malagi, said that the government will resettle these banditry and terrorism in Niger, Katsina, Kaduna, Zamfara, Benue and Kebbi states. He added that the resettlement programme will entail the construction of houses, clinics, schools, veterinary hospitals and the provision of solar energy.

Other initiatives the government will introduce include the inauguration of  empowerment schemes for members of these affected communities. Speaking at the opening of the Jamatu Nasril Islam Central Council Meeting at the Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi International Conference Centre in Minna, the minister said the initiative is the government’s non-kinetic approach to solving the problem.

Alhaji Malagi added: “The initiative is President Tinubu’s unique humanitarian response to the effects of banditry in our communities. It  will be implemented in Zamfara, Kebbi, Katsina, Kaduna, Niger and Benue states.”

He said President Tinubu’s vision for Nigeria is all-encompassing and is encapsulated in his Renewed Hope Agenda, which seeks to reform the economy, guarantee national security, achieve food security, unlock our natural resources potential, build infrastructure, with a focus on health and social investment, as well as accelerate diversification and innovation, and improve governance delivery. Alhaji Malagi said the 2024 Renewed Hope Budget tacitly captures the scale of the national transformation that the Bola Tinubu administration is pursuing.