Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State has emphasised that bandits who refuse peace and threaten innocent people must face the full consequences of the law. The governor spoke as the State government hosted a three-day Northwest Security Summit organised by the Nigeria Police on Wednesday at the Government House, Gusau.
The Security Summit, themed ‘Appraising the Security Challenges in the Northwest Region’, was honoured by the presence of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Rilwan Disu.
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The summit brought together the leadership of the Nigeria Police, representatives of the Northwest States, heads of security and intelligence agencies, traditional rulers, community leaders, and civil society organisations.
While declaring the summit open, Governor Lawal commended the Inspector-General of Police and the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force for convening the summit and for choosing Zamfara State as the host.
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He said, “This is significant because Zamfara remains at the frontline of the security challenges confronting the Northwest. It provides an appropriate setting for an honest assessment of our challenges and, more importantly, the development of practical solutions.
“The Northwest’s security crisis exceeds isolated crimes. Organised networks conduct banditry, kidnapping, and cattle rustling across borders, threatening livelihoods, food security, education, investment, and the social fabric. The summit also highlights urban threats such as thuggery, substance abuse, and radical infiltration.
“This reality demands moving beyond fragmented responses because criminal networks ignore state boundaries. Our security must operate cohesively. Intelligence in Zamfara can prevent attacks elsewhere, and operations nearby can disrupt threats in Zamfara.
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“Accordingly, the Northwest needs stronger mechanisms for real-time intelligence sharing, coordinated operations, inter-state surveillance, community policing, and sustained disruption of the financial, logistical and supply networks that sustain organised crime.”
The governor added that the summit represents some of the finest operational, intelligence and strategic experience within the Nigeria Police Force and the security ecosystem.
“We must, therefore, challenge ourselves to leave Gusau not merely with another diagnosis of insecurity, but with actionable options.
“I urge this summit to consider practical measures to cut off criminal networks’ supply chains and limit their movement. Criminal enterprises rely on logistics including routes, markets, intermediaries, financiers, and networks.
“We must confront operational questions: How do we disrupt supply chains? How do we limit criminals’ mobility across forests, communities, and borders? How do we strengthen control over vulnerable corridors without harming legitimate commerce? And how do we identify and dismantle networks of informants and facilitators enabling crime?, Mr Lawal stressed.
Earlier, the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, said that the security of the Northwest is a collective responsibility because the region is of enormous importance to Nigeria.
“We are combining states to tackle the issue of insecurity. We have come together, we police together, we share intelligence together. We have made up our minds to take the fight to these criminals. We have made up our minds to do this; that is why we summoned this summit.”
“As Inspector-General of Police, I assure you that the Nigeria Police Force will continue to deploy its capabilities, personnel and partnerships towards securing the region and supporting the efforts of State Governments and other security agencies. But we also recognise that policing is most effective when it is supported by the people,” Mr Disu said.
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