Francis Sardauna in Katsina
The Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, has called on bandits terrorising communities across the state to embrace dialogue and lay down their weapons in the interest of peace and development.
He said the state government’s doors remain open to bandits and kidnappers who are willing to abandon criminality and choose peace for development to thrive in the state.
Speaking during the handing over of 152 houses to internally displaced persons in Jibia, Thursday, Radda said the bandits should embrace dialogue, repentance and reintegration into the society.
The housing units were built under the UNDP Northwest Prevention Facility Project in collaboration with the Katsina State Government, as part of efforts to provide durable solutions for victims of banditry in the state.
Radda urged the marauding bandits to denounce banditry and return to their families and communities, adding that the opportunities being provided by the government could also be extended to them if they embraced peace.
He said: “To our brothers and sisters in the bush or in the forest, to those who still raise weapons against our own people, to those who have taken to banditry, kidnapping and violence, hear me very well today: there is a better way. The doors for dialogue, repentance and reintegration remain open to you.
“Lay down your arms, come back to your families, come back to your communities. The same houses, the same grants, the same opportunities being delivered here today can be yours tomorrow.
“Not through fear, not through bloodshed, but through peace, good governance and honest labour. Choose your children over your weapons. Choose prosperity over destruction. Choose life.”
The governor said his administration remains committed to exploring lawful and practical measures that would bring an end to the prolonged insecurity in the state.
