The Commissioner of Police in Zamfara State, Muhammad Dalijan, announced on Wednesday, that a current House of Assembly member and a former local government chairman have been arrested in connection with banditry in the state.
The announcement was made during a meeting with Thomas Parker, the officer in charge of the Counter terrorism Unit under the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, at the police command headquarters in Gusau, the state capital.
However, Dalijan did not disclose the names of the arrested lawmaker and former council chairman.
The region has experienced numerous criminal incidents. In March alone, suspected bandits kidnapped about 30 people from Kasai village in the Batsari Local Government Area of Katsina State.
In Zamfara, bandits carried out two separate attacks: in one, they stormed a mosque, kidnapping several worshippers, and in another, they killed a man and abducted his wife and a neighbor.
Commissioner Dalijan called on the UN agency for support in building capacity to investigate crimes and establish forensic laboratories, which would expedite the prosecution of suspects.
The meeting allowed the UN officer to explain the purpose of their visit, which was prompted by a request from Governor Dauda Lawal for the UN’s assistance in addressing the state’s security issues.
Dalijan added that the UN is ready to conduct an assessment of the security situation in Zamfara to understand the causes and challenges, and to determine how best to address the threats.
