The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, on
Thursday lamented the high rate of insecurity in
the North , saying it was the worst place in the
country to live.
The Sultan, who stated this at the fourth
quarterly meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious
Council in Abuja, said bandits were fast
overrunning the North as residents slept with
their eyes open.
While describing the North as the worst place to
live, he said that bandits had become daring.
He said they moved from house to house, village
to village, market to market, with AK-47 rifles
openly, purchasing foodstuffs and other items
and even collecting change without any
challenge from the security agencies.
The foremost traditional ruler stated that the
security system in the North had completely
collapsed.
He said, “ Security situation in Northern Nigeria has
assumed a worrisome situation. Few weeks ago,
over 76 persons were killed in a community in
Sokoto in a day. I was there with the governor to
commiserate with the affected community.
“Unfortunately, you don’t hear these stories in the
media because it’s in the North. We have accepted
the fact that the North does not have strong media
to report the atrocities of these bandits.
“People think North is safe but that assumption is
not true. In fact, it’s the worst place to be in this
country because bandits go around in the villages,
households and markets with their AK 47 and
nobody is challenging them.
“They stop at the market, buy things, pay and
collect change, with their weapons openly
displayed. These are facts, I know because I am at
the centre of it.
“I am not only a traditional ruler, I am also a
religious leader. So, I am in a better place to tell
the story. I can speak for the North in this regard
because I am fully aware of the security challenges
there. We have to sincerely and seriously find
solutions to the problem, otherwise, we will find
ourselves soon, in a situation where we would lose
sleep because of insecurity. ”
Source gistreel