700,000 People Displaced By Bandits In Zamfara – Gov’t

The Zamfara State Government said the Humanitarian Ministry has established eight centres to take care of the over 700,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) across the state.

The State Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Ibrahim Magaji Dosara, while addressing a news briefing in Kaduna said  each of the 14 Local Government Areas of the state currently has emergency relief desk officers shouldering the responsibilities of assisting the IDPs in their respective local government.

“In addition to provision of food items, clothing, bed, mattresses, etc., by the state government, the Ministry appreciates the untiring efforts of the international donor agencies in this regard.

“These donor agencies complement the efforts of the state government through cash transfer to our IDPs ranging from N30,000 to N40,000 periodically to these victims.

“The federal government too has been committing huge sum in this regard. The Zamfara state government remains grateful to all who contributes in relieving the worries of these innocent people across the state,” he said.

He said the humanitarian has embarked on training some of the victims of the banditry on skills acquisition programmes, bordering on tailoring, barbing, pure water making and providing Keke-NAPEP to some beneficiaries.

Zamfara recruited 4,200 protection guards

In his remarks, the Commissioner of Security and Homes Affairs, DIG Mamman Ibrahim Tsafe, said the state has recruited 4,200 Community Protection Guards (CPG).

He said the recruited guards comprise of ex-servicemen, volunteer able bodied men and other patriotic citizens of the state willing to support security operatives to confront these bandits in their enclaves, with a view to curtailing the menace.

He said the guards were trained on armed handling to support security agencies.