The Minister of Defence Mansur Dan-Ali has said some traditional leaders are among those helping bandits with intelligence to carry out kidnappings and compromise military operations in the North West.

The military and the police recently launched rejuvenated security operations to fight kidnapping and banditry that has ravaged communities and citizens in some North Western States that include, Kaduna, Niger, Zamfara, Plateau and Katsina.

The operations it is said is to effectively flush out the activities of criminal elements in the North West. The Nigerian Air Force has also intensified air strikes against the bandits in Zamfara.

The spokesman of the Minister, Colonel Tukur Gusau in a statement on Tuesday said, “in spite of the concerted efforts of the Armed Forces and other security agencies some unpatriotic persons including highly placed traditional rulers in the areas were identified as helping the bandits with intelligence to perpetuate their nefarious actions or to compromise military operations.”

He said, in the last three years, the Ministry carried out several reforms geared towards the reorganisation and expansion of the Armed Forces in order to meet up with contemporary security challenges across the nation and the sub-region.

He added that, “In line with this the Nigerian Army established 8 Division with headquarters in Sokoto to cover Kebbi, Sokoto, Katsina and Zamfara states while the Headquarters of 1 Brigade was relocated from Sokoto to Gusau.”

•Sourced from a Daily Trust report