Zamfara killings: Commissioner blames security agencies

The Senate ad-hoc committee on security infrastructure has been told that security agencies should be blamed for the increasing spate of killing in Zamfara State.

 The ad-hoc committee went to Zamfara on a fact finding visit over the continuous killings in the State.

A member of the committee told our reporter that Zamfara State Commissioner for Commerce, Industries and Investment, Ahmed Maradun, specifically told them that security agencies should be held responsible for the worsening security situation in the State.

The committee member who did not want to be named because he is not the chairman, said Maradun spoke during the visit of the panel to the palace of the Emir of Maradun in Zamfara State.

The lawmaker said the commissioner told members of the committee that security personnel deployed to the state have refused to take action to protect residents despite a marching order issued to them by the President Muhammadu Buhari.

The commissioner, he said, told the committee that even after being heavily funded by the State government, the security personnel deployed to that State still fail in their duty to protect citizens of the state.

He said: “These security agencies are ordered by the Federal Government to protect people in the state. The State governor as the Chief Security Officer is also empowered to give them orders, but when they refuse to take such orders what should he do?

“Let me go personal with you, there was a time when the security agencies were informed that there would be an attack on one of the communities. Despite the information they were given beforehand, none of them made any attempt to counter that attack and a lot of people were killed.

“Also, you would have learnt that the President gave an order for the deployment of some of them. If you must know, they are just there and their presence not felt.

 “Whenever you give them information about an attack, they always reply that they have not received any order and cannot act. In fact, I think there may be a deliberate plot by these security agencies to undermine the powers of the President.

“Then again, they talk about not having personnel and equipment to protect lives and property in Zamfara state, but they have enough to deploy to Benue State because they have the loudest voice; they also have enough to deploy to the Niger Delta because of the oil in the region. I don’t believe in that”.

“As far as I know, if you look at the monumental amount of money being sunk into security by the State government, it is quite high. Then if you know you cannot guarantee the protection of lives and property, why take our money and why still continue to take it.

“Atimes ten million, fifty million, twenty million, and it goes on like that. Why do they take our money? If they cannot do anything, then let them return our monies back to us,” the commissioner was quoted to have said.

He further said the Chairman of the panel, Senator Ahmad Lawan, assured that the committee would ensure the participation of traditional rulers in matters of governance and security.

Lawan was also said to have assured that the security structure in Zamfara would be improved beyond what is on the ground.

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