The Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, on Wednesday, met with the Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Christopher Musa, over the influx of bandits and other criminals from other states to his state.
The governor had on Tuesday raised an alarm over the influx of bandits fleeing from crisis spots in the Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State to Nasarawa.
He also said he had noticed the proliferation of illegal production of small arms and ammunition in the state.
Speaking to journalists at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja, shortly after the closed-door meeting, Sule said his visit was to inform the Defence Chief of the need to act fast to salvage the situation.
He said the action became imperative because of the state’s proximity to the country’s seat of power.
Sule said, “First and foremost, as you know, Nasarawa State has the largest proximity to the Federal Capital Territory among other States, so, security in Nasarawa State is always very critical to the North and Nigeria. As usual, I am a very regular visitor to this office of the CDS.
“I discussed a few issues about security challenges. Moreover, as the head of security agencies, I believe he is in a better position to handle them than anyone else.
“I’m not a security man. I don’t know much about Nasarawa’s security challenges but I believe he will handle them. Nasarawa is surrounded by several states with security challenges or another. It started with Benue where open-grazing laws existed. We have some challenges there.
“There was an influx of Fulanis who didn’t want to stay in Benue into Nasarawa State. We have an issue on the plateau today because of the Mangu crisis. We always have some people that are always running for their interests in Nasarawa.
“Sometimes, we have some challenges in the southern part of Kaduna, and some people also run into Nasarawa. Even here in FCT, if they have problems, they turn to Nasarawa. For that reason, Nasarawa has become a base for some criminals and they transit through that place.
“Of course, you have some of these challenges to discuss in other areas. They are helpful for me to share with CDS who is in a better position to look at them and handle them.”
Reacting, the CDS said the military had already mapped out strategies to address the threat.
He said it was imperative to keep the state secured due to its closeness to the FCT.
Musa said, “You’ve just heard from him about the security challenges facing the state. You know how strategic Nasarawa State is to Nigeria, FCT particularly. What we tried to do, what we’ve exchanged is to look at it generally. We have the importance and necessity to maintain peace within Nasarawa State.
“So, all the security challenges confronting the state are being addressed, and we’re being proactive about them. We don’t wait until it gets terrible before acting. We are on it now, before anything happens. I can assure you that Nasarawa will remain peaceful, and Abuja will remain peaceful.”
