Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State says the state government will start documenting repentant bandits on Saturday.
The governor stated this during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today.
On Thursday, Sani received the first set of repentant bandits. During the interview, he said that most of the bandits in Birnin Gwari are indigenes of the community.
Sani said, “We had a lot of discussions with some of them. Some of them said that most of them were killed by security agencies, when we started discussion and negotiation. But in this case we did not give them one naira. There is no monetary issue at all. Most of them are tired.
“The earlier we stop politicizing the issue, the better. We carry the Birnin Gwari community under the leadership who have been (living) in Birnin Gwari for decades, who have been involved in many things. He told me that all those bandits you are talking of were born in Birnin Gwari in his presence.
“This is the Kaduna model. It is different from anywhere. From tomorrow (Saturday), we will start registration of most of these people that are repentant.
“It is a process that took almost six months precisely to reach this position. Birnin Gwari is one of the most critical local governments in terms of banditry, kidnapping and insurgency in the North-West.
“We also partner with the federal security agencies, the office of the National Security Adviser. So it is a collective effort.
“The Kaduna State Government has been working tirelessly to engage stakeholders and build trust among the various communities in the state.”