The Zamfara chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) has urged the Nigeria Police Force to permit the Civilian Joint Task (CJTF), to carry rifles to ease the fight against bandits in the North Western state.
Chairman, Alhaji Mohammed Umar, made the appeal in Guau, during a Stakeholders Security Town Hall Meeting with the acting IGP, Mohammed Adamu.
He said that members of the CJTF, who were recently recruited by the state government to complement the effort of security agents, were conversant with the terrain of their respective areas and could identify most of the criminals operating around them.
Represented by the Chairman of Zurmi Local Government Area, Dr Auwal Moriki, the ALGON boss regretted that the military had written to the state government requesting the withdrawal of the JTF.
He believed that withdrawing the CJTF is not advisable because they have seen how determined these youths are, in the fight against the bandits. And also said that they are confident that having received training from the armed forces, they can do the job.
He noted that if they can be closely supervised by the Police while they handle the weapons, the challenges will certainly be surmounted and we are confident that this can be achieved.
Also commenting on the matter, the representative of the CJTF, Mr Ibrahim Muhammed, commended members of the CJTF for their bravery but acknowledged that there were some bad eggs among the security agents. He said that they are ever ready to do our best to curb the activities of these terror groups, but we need your support, prayers and the cooperation of the security agents we work with.
Also contributing, the representative of the Council of Ulama in the state, Dr Aliyu Jangebe, called on leaders to be just and fair to all citizens, while citizens must pray for the leaders.
He advised that they may have individually or collectively offended God and need to seek His forgiveness and help for us to see the end of this problem.
Report says that the meeting was attended by traditional and community leaders, as well as herders and farmers.
