Zamfara State Governor Matawalle has charged his people to wake up and defend themselves against attacks by bandits.
The governor made this call at special prayer organised by his administration to seek God’s intervention against banditry in the state capital on Wednesday.
Matawalle said, “I am calling on the people of the state, particularly those in the rural areas, to use all the available weapons at their disposal and protect themselves whenever the bandits attack their villages.
“As from today, you should come out en masse and face the bandits if they come to your villages.
“Do not sleep in the night and if you get any information that the bandits are coming to your communities to attack you, try to ambush them with all the weapons in your possession.
“We have to remove the fear from our minds and face these hoodlums so that they will understand that we can fight them.”
Matawalle expressed optimism that if the measure was adopted, the issue of banditry would soon become history.
Prominent Islamic scholars in the state had converged on a mosque, where special prayers were offered. The programme was also broadcast live by the state-owned Zamfara Radio.
