Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State has suggested that nobody can claim to fight for justice or the poor while at the same time paying bandits.
Sani revealed that instead of compensating the perpetrators of violence, his administration has focused on supporting the victims.
The governor spoke on Thursday while fielding questions on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme.
Sani noted that the insecurity plaguing the North-West is largely driven by economic factors, unlike the ideological underpinnings of Boko Haram in the North-East.
Responding to earlier criticisms that he was allegedly trying to negotiate with or pay bandits, Sani said such accusations contradict his long-standing advocacy for justice.
He said: “Looking at security issues we just have to sit down and analyse what are the symptoms and the drivers of insecurity. I agree with you that Boko Haram is more of an ideological issue. But when you are talking about insurgency in the north West it’s an economic matter. That’s why when we came in, I said, look, we can’t resolve it with kinetic approach only.
“When I started, a lot of people were criticising me saying ‘you are trying to pay bandits’. But I told them a man who fought for justice and for the downtrodden can’t sit down with the bandit and pay him.
“So they were surprised only two weeks ago when I came up with my own programme, where I gave houses to the victims of insurgency instead of compensating or giving anything to the bandits. I haven’t given one naira to the bandits but I have built houses for the victims of banditry in Kaduna state.”
