Zamfara Governor Matawalle Bello has explained that the government decided to shut down all telecommunications networks in the state to check banditry.
Speaking to DW Hausa Service on Monday, September 6, Matawalle said the security forces in collaboration with local vigilantes were taking the fight to the bandits’ enclaves as directed by the Army Chief, Yahaya Farouk.
This is follows a directive by the Nigerian Communications Commission mandating all telecommunication operators in the country to stop extending services to Zamfara and its environs, effective Friday, September 3, 2021.
Barely six months ago, the Federal Government declared Zamfara State a ‘no-fly zone’ in what is seen as a renewed effort to fight banditry and other forms of insecurity in the state.
The governor also revealed that shutting down of telcoms networks and closing of local markets have started making impact.
He said “The bandits are releasing their captives, they are abandoning their motorcycles after running out of fuel. Many of the bandits have been killed by the security forces and the security personnel will sustain the offensive against them until we wipe them out from Zamfara.”
