Bandits: ‘Forests Should Be Carpet-bombed, Trees Replanted’ — El-Rufai
Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has expressed his views on what should be done to rid the state of bandits harassing its citizens.
Security forces should “carpet-bomb woodlands” where bandits are hiding, according to El-Rufai.
The Governor, speaking on Arise TV on Monday, said that after the area has been blasted, the trees around the impacted forest can be replaced.
He did agree, though, that carpet-bombing the trees might have unintended consequences.
Such a step, according to El-Rufai, would improve agriculture in rural areas.
The Governor blamed a shortage of manpower for security forces’ inability to stop banditry in the northwest for so long.
According to El-Rufai: “These bandits operate in the periphery because their hiding place is in the forest. It’s a major problem. The security agencies are doing their best but they are overstretched.
“The reality is we don’t have enough boots on ground to address the myriad of security challenges that we face, and these security challenges are asymmetric, widespread, and there’s no part of Nigeria that doesn’t have one security problem or the other.
“Ramp up the number of boots and more technology and more investment in armament and wipe these guys once and for all.
“I’ve always believed that, you know, we should carpet-bomb the forests; we can replant the trees after. Let’s carpet-bomb the forests and bomb all of them.”
