Jittery over public outcry that more than 50,000 residents of 17 communities in Sabon Birni Local Government Area have relocated to Niger Republic, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State and his counterparts in Niger Republic (Dosso, Maradi and Tahoua) will soon convene a meeting to find solutions to the perennial problem of insecurity.
The high-powered regional meeting will also have in attendance governors of North-West states of Nigeria having border with the Republic; Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara and Katsina states.
According to a press statement issued by Mohammed Bello, media aide to Tambuwal, agreements for the bilateral talks was reached after a preparatory meeting between the Sokoto state governor and his host, the Governor of Maradi, Zakari Oumarou, some representatives of the security outfits in Niger Republic and other stakeholders.
In the meantime, the Sokoto State Government will soon dispatch 10 trucks of relief materials comprising of food, clothing materials and other items to the IDP camps in Dan Dadji Makaou, Shadakori and Garin Kaka villages, Maradi State, where Sokoto indigenes displaced as a result of the activities of some bandits in the eastern flank of the state reside.
The IDPs are being sheltered with the cooperation of the government of Niger Republic, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and some non-governmental organisations.
Although a date for the bilateral security meeting has not been announced, Tambuwal said, “Its primary objective will be to deepen cooperation between the Nigerien states of Dosso, Maradi and Tahoua and the four North-Western states of Nigeria that have displaced persons in Niger Republic.
“The governments of the Nigerian states that have displaced persons in Maradi, in collaboration with the Federal Government, will work together to ensure the restoration of peace in their affected areas and Nigeria in general.”
Earlier, Hon. Oumarou, the Governor of Maradi region of the Niger Republic, said the number of refugees from Sokoto and other Nigerian states affected by banditry being reported in international media was being exaggerated. Punch
