Zamfara State government has denied stories making the rounds that banditry is aimed at controlling gold and mining sites in the state.
The state governor, Bello Matawalle said his administration has chased away foreigners and illegal miners from all mining sites, allowing only those licensed to operate.
At a gathering to welcome the Service Chiefs to Zamfara state, Governor Bello Matawalle says his administration will not condone any act of insecurity or illegal mining.
He noted that he inherited a state full of irregularities especially illegal Mining activities and Insecurity
Governor Bello Matawalle applauds President Muhammadu Buhari for approving the deployment of six thousand additional troops to the state.
The chairman, Council of Chiefs and Traditional rulers in the state Attahiru Ahmed said there are over thirty thousand heavily armed bandits operating in the state.
He noted that troops in the state can not confront the criminals effectively without modern warfare equipment
According to him, lack of enough armed security operatives led to the abduction of over one hundred person’s in a community in Maru local government less than twenty four hours after the abduction of the Jangebe school girls.