The committee on finding solutions to banditry in Zamfara, on Friday said it has concrete evidence that five Emirs in the state were complicit in the spate of banditry in which more than 6,319 men and women were killed.
It disclosed that the menace has produced 4, 983 widows, while over N3 billion was paid as ransom by people to secure freedom of 3, 672 abducted persons.
The chairman of the committee, Mohammed Abubakar, who is a former Inspector General of Police, said that more than 25,050 children were orphaned and another 190,340 displaced while the menace lasted for nearly a decade
Moreover, over 2,00o cattle, 141 sheep and goats, 2,600 donkeys and camels were lost to rustlers. At least 147,800 vehicles, motorcycles, among others, were destroyed.
One of the radical recommendations of the committee is for the state government to take over all farmlands situated on grazing routes and adopt modern livestock farming, including embarking on unconditional disarmament and setting up of a judicial commission of inquiry to tackle banditry.
The Chairman of the committee also said that apart from the five emirs, 33 district and village heads were also working with the bandits.
He, however did not publicly name the traditional rulers complicit in banditry.
He added that 10 soldiers, some policemen and civil servants were discovered to have had their hands smeared in the banditry which lasted for about a decade in the state.
The former IGP however said some security personnel and one emir distinguished themselves creditably in the protection of the people.
He said that the committee had recommended that the emir be conferred with national honour while the officers should be promoted to their next ranks.
Abubakar said the 300-page report would be relevant to other state governments and the federal government in addressing security issues in the country.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the committee was inaugurated by Gov. Matawalle in July and its investigation covered between June 2011 and May 2019.
Additional reports by www.nan.ng
