Expose suspicious persons among you, Zamfara Speaker urges IDPs

The Speaker of Zamfara State House of Assembly, Alhaji Sanusi Rikiji, has urged Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the state to expose any suspicious persons among them.

Rikiji made the call on Thursday when he visited the Shinkafi and Maradun IDPs camps.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the number of IDPs is increasing in the state due to fear of attacks and threats from bandits.

Over 20,000 IDPs from across 30 communities of the three local government areas of Zurmi, Maradun and Shinkafi are being camped by the State Government at various government facilities the state.

Rikij,i who is also the Chairman of the state’s Damage Assessment and Relief Committee, said the IDPs should monitor their surrounding and report any suspicious persons or movement around them to the security agents.

“The activities of informants have been fueling banditry in this state; you should expose any informants among you to the authorities.

“I want to urge you to remain calm, the State Government and the Federal Government are making efforts to end this banditry.

“We appreciate the efforts of President Muhammad Buhari at deployment of security personnel to Zamfara.

“You should also embark on daily prayers and seek for Allah’s intervention to end this banditry in this state.

“As we all know, this committee that I am heading was established by the state government to assess the damages caused by banditry and provide relief assistance to the victims.

“We have been directed by Gov. Abdul’aziz Yari to take care of all the IDPs in the state until you return to your respective villages.

“In each of the IDPs camps the state government has provided 1000 bags of assorted grains, N5 million and clothing materials for the victims.

The Chairmen of Maradun and Shinkafi local governments, Alhaji Yahaya Shehu and Sani Galadi, thanked the state government for the gesture and promised judicious utilisation of the items provided.