President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed urgent security reinforcement for Katsina State following a high-level meeting with Governor Dikko Umaru Radda and a powerful delegation from the state.
Hikaya Newspaper reports that the meeting, held in Abuja on Tuesday, was convened to seek federal intervention over the worsening insecurity threatening communities across Katsina and the wider Northwest.
The President ordered all security agencies to review their strategies, deploy additional air drones, and redeploy troops between Katsina and boundary areas to intensify operations against bandits.
“Today, I have directed all the security agencies to energize further, to look at the strategy again. Additional deployment of air drones, and if they have to shift movement in between Katsina and other boundary areas, they should do so. And they are going to give me a feedback by tomorrow,” Tinubu declared. He further assured that ground troops would be reinforced to “smoke out” criminal elements.
Acknowledging the severity of the challenge, Tinubu said Nigeria’s weak borders and inherited security lapses had worsened the crisis, but emphasized his administration’s determination to confront it.
He revealed plans to establish state police as part of a holistic approach to strengthen protection for lives, livelihoods, places of worship, and recreation. “We must protect our children, our people, our livelihood… They can’t intimidate us,” the President stressed.
Governor Radda expressed deep appreciation to President Tinubu for his unwavering support, describing him as “a son of Katsina” who has consistently approved requests for the state. Earlier, the Emir of Katsina, represented by Senator Ibrahim Ida, urged stronger synergy among security agencies and called for a military battalion and mobile police squadron in southern Katsina. The Emir also disclosed that the state government had spent over N40 billion on security support for federal agencies despite limited resources.
The high-powered delegation included state and federal lawmakers, ministers, traditional leaders, religious clerics, and business leaders, in what officials described as a strategic push to end banditry in the state and the Northwest region.