Zamfara State governor, Dauda Lawal, says he can wipe out banditry in the state within two months—if he is given direct control over security agencies.

In a video that has now gone viral, the governor said he knows where the bandits are hiding. Yet, he cannot act, because security operatives in Zamfara take instructions only from Abuja.

“I swear to Almighty Allah, wherever a bandit leader is in Zamfara State, I know it. If he goes out, I know. With my phone, I can show you where they are today. But we cannot do anything beyond our powers,” Lawal said.

He became emotional as he described how communities endure repeated attacks while soldiers and police wait for clearance from the federal capital.

The governor recalled one attack in Shinkafi Local Government Area. Bandits invaded, but security forces refused to act without Abuja’s approval.

“If today I have the power to give orders to the security agencies, I can assure you, we will end banditry in Zamfara within two months. Most of the time I shed tears for my people, because I see the problem but I cannot order the security men to act in time,” he lamented.

Local Efforts, Limited Power

Despite lacking direct command, Lawal said his administration has been supporting the fight. About 150 patrol vehicles were given to the Police, Army, DSS and Civil Defence. Thousands of Community Protection Guards and 2,000 hunters from Borno and Yobe were also recruited.

He accused political rivals of undermining security measures. “The politicisation of insecurity is not hurting me as a person; it is destroying Zamfara. Some people do not want us to succeed. But I will not stop trying,” he declared.

Zamfara remains one of the worst-hit states in northern Nigeria’s banditry crisis. Villagers face kidnappings, killings, and mass displacement. Many residents have staged protests in Gusau, the capital, accusing leaders of abandoning them.

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has said his government is considering the creation of state police to tackle insecurity, alongside drones and forest guards in hotspots.

Debates about state police in Nigeria have been raging on for decades with no government able to take a decisive decision on it.

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