The All Progressives Congress member representing Sokoto East Senatorial District, Ibrahim Gobir, on Tuesday said the Nigerian military was no longer capable of saving his people from bandits.
Gobir stated this on the floor of the Senate while seconding the motion moved by the Deputy Chief Whip, Sabi Abdullahi, on the order given by the President Muhammadu Buhari to the Nigerian soldiers to flush out bandits from some states.
The Senator said his people now rely on the soldiers from Niger Republic to ward off the attacks of bandits whenever the hoodlums struck.
He said, “There is no protection for my people in the Sokoto East Senatorial District because of the incessant attacks of the bandits.
“At least 300 people have either been killed or kidnapped in the last three months while over 5,780 cows valued at N2.5bn had been stolen. We are even appealing to the Federal Government through the Senate for reparation. We now rely on the Nigerien Army that is helping us since our Nigerian soldiers have abandoned us.
“When we call the Nigerian Army whose personnel are a few kilometres away, we won’t get an instant response but the Nigerien soldiers, who are in about five kilometers away, will quickly move in and ward off the intruders.
“At the moment, the Nigerians in Sokoto East are relocating to Niger Republic because they are no longer save in Nigeria.”
The Senate accordingly commended Buhari for ordering the military to flush out bandits from Katsina State but said the scope of the order should cover Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger, Sokoto, and other states under bandits’ attacks.