The governor of Niger State, Umar Bago, has decried the activities of armed bandits in various local government areas of the state, saying that the situation is crippling farming activities in the state.
Mr Bago made the lamentation on Tuesday when the Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Ahmed Audi, paid him a visit in the state house.
According to the governor, the nefarious activities of the bandits, including killings, mass abductions, cattle rustling, and illegal mining have left residents at the mercy of the criminals.
He said: “Niger State is being referred to as the food basket of the country largely due to our largest land mass in the country, which is also suitable for agriculture and being made use by the government and large percentage of the people.
“But the growing security concern meant that our people are constantly at the mercy of bandits and other criminal elements.”
The governor, who also decried the nefarious activities of illegal miners in the state, promised to continue to work on equipping the security agencies in the state.
Speaking during the meeting, Mr Audi promised to further enhance the working relationship between the NSCDC and other security agencies in order to rid the state of all the criminal elements that had been terrorising it lately.
“We came around to see for ourselves, a kind of on-the-spot assessment of the security situation in Niger State and to familiarize with you.
“We hope to work on our synergy with other security agencies in the state and create better security atmosphere for people of Niger State,” he added.
