The Zamfara State government, Northwest Nigeria, on Thursday said the nation’s security agencies have arrested over 2,000 terrorists and bandits’ informants in the State following the shutdown of telecommunications services.
Zamfara State Commissioner Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Ibrahim Dosara, told journalists in Kaduna while giving an update on the ongoing military operations in the State that the arrested informants are undergoing “serious interrogation for them to disclose their perpetrators and collaborators.”
Dosara said that some of the arrested informants mentioned names of highly influential individuals as their collaborators adding that security agencies are already working on the information given by
the suspected informants to arrest collaborators of terrorism, banditry and kidnappings.
The Commissioner stated that many bandits have been “neutralized” by security agencies across the State while many have fled to neighbouring States like Sokoto and Katsina.
“We have recorded a lot of successes in the last one month of the operation as many bandits have fled the state to Sokoto and Kastsina state. We succeeded in so many respect by making Many of them to flee the State.
“Just a day ago a Commissioner of Police in Sokoto said 80 percent of Zamfara bandits are now in Sokoto while only 20 percent are remaining in Katsina and Zamfara state. As it’s now security agencies have arrested over 2000 informants in the state and are undergoing interrogation and they mentioned names of their collaborators to include some highly personalities and the
security agencies are working on the information provided to get at their collaborators,” he said.
He added that state government is aware of the hardship the telecom shutdown which was highly regretted saying.
He said the decision only to free the state from bandits not to cause the law abiding citizens hardship.
He said that the shutting down of telecom services will be lifted in Gusau, the State capital before the end of this week.
