The governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, has said that not all bandits who terrorize parts of the State and other neighboring States are criminals.
He said this while speaking to journalists after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at Aso Rock on Thursday.
Matawalle said some of these bandits take the law into their hands because they are ill-treated by some vigilante groups, and that some of the conflicts recorded in the north-west are reprisal attacks by the bandits on members of the vigilante groups.
He said, “Not all of them are criminals.
“If you investigate what is happening, and what made them take the laws into their hands, some of them, sometimes were cheated by so-called vigilante groups.
“They normally go to their settlements and destroy property and take their animals. They did not have anyone to speak with, so sometimes, they go for revenge. When the vigilante group attacks them, they go for reprisals.
“It is important for us as leaders to sit down with them and understand what is the genesis. You can’t just conclude that this person is a criminal.
“You have to listen to him. What led him to go into such activities? It is not all Fulanis that are criminals.
“Some are good citizens, but due to some circumstances, they subscribed to such criminality but when we had the information, we called their leaders and sat with them, they told us their grudges and we sorted out the way the communities and the Fulanis can resolve their issues without any serious crisis.”
