Bauchi Govt Arrests Five Bandits, Says State Under Threat Of Terrorists From Yobe

Following the arrest of five bandits, the Bauchi State government has said that the state is under threat of terrorists from neighbouring Yobe State.

The Secretary to the Bauchi State Government (SSG), Mohammed Sabiu Baba, while addressing journalists after an emergency security council meeting at the Government House on Monday said that “following the overrunning of Geidam in Yobe State by the Boko Haram militants, there has been an influx of people into the state through four LGAs in the Northern part of the Bauchi State.”

The SSG who was flanked by other heads of security agencies declared that “this influx of the displaced people has put the state under a security threat, our facilities are now overstretched and we are not comfortable with the development.”

He however said that security strategies have been developed to ensure that the threats do not turn into attack in the state saying that, “profiling of all the people coming into Bauchi State particularly in the four affected LGAs will be done in order to discover those with dangerous weapons and demonize them.”

The SSG assured that the state government will ensure that the joint operations of the security agencies, particularly air surveillance, will be intensified around the affected LGAs.

While fielding questions from journalists, Baba said, “some bandits have been arrested for vandalizing the MTN installation in Gamawa LGA with the intention of blocking communication in the area in preparation for an attack.”

He further said that for now, the people are not camped in a particular area but moving around the four LGAs and are harboured by residents of the communities, saying that security agencies will go round to fish them out.

He also assured that government officials will identify internally displaced persons in order to provide relief materials for their well-being because according to him, the government will not just watch them suffer.

In his brief remarks, Bauchi State Police Commissioner, Sylvester Abiodun Alabi, commended operatives of the DSS in the state for the intelligence report which alerted that danger was lurking around the corner in the state following the infiltration of the bandits.

He, however, assured that the Police Command will team up with other security agencies in the state to effectively secure the state from any attack by the bandits as well as Boko Haram militants.

The CP then appealed to communities in the affected LGAs not to harbour any criminal in their houses because according to him, a house-to-house search will be embarked upon to fish out the armed militants.

The gateway LGAs are Gamawa, Dambam, Darazo and Zaki which are sharing boundaries with Yobe State and are close to Geidam which was seized by Boko Haram militants.