Katsina Governor Urges Terrorists To Embrace Dialogue, Hands Over 152 Houses To Displaced Persons
Katsina Governor Dikko Radda urges terrorists to surrender and handed 152 houses to displaced persons in Jibia.
Katsina Governor Dikko Radda urges terrorists to surrender and handed 152 houses to displaced persons in Jibia.
The Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, has called on bandits terrorising communities across the state to embrace dialogue and lay down their weapons in the interest of peace and development.
He said the state government’s doors remain open to bandits and kidnappers who are willing to abandon criminality and choose peace for development to thrive in the state.
Speaking during the handing over of 152 houses to internally displaced persons in Jibia Thursday, Radda said the bandits should embrace dialogue, repentance and reintegration into society.
The housing units were built under the UNDP Northwest Prevention Facility Project in collaboration with the Katsina State Government, as part of efforts to provide durable solutions for victims of banditry in the state.
Radda urged the marauding bandits to denounce banditry and return to their families and communities, adding that the opportunities being provided by the government could also be extended to them if they embraced peace.
He said: “To our brothers and sisters in the bush or in the forest, to those who still raise weapons against our own people, to those who have taken to banditry, kidnapping and violence, hear me very well today: there is a better way. The doors for dialogue, repentance and reintegration remain open to you.
“Lay down your arms, come back to your families, come back to your communities. The same houses, the same grants, the same opportunities being delivered here today can be yours tomorrow.
“Not through fear, not through bloodshed, but through peace, good governance, and honest labour. Choose your children over your weapons. Choose prosperity over destruction. Choose life.”
The governor said his administration remains committed to exploring lawful and practical measures that would bring an end to the prolonged insecurity in the state.
Earlier, the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme, Ms Elsie Attafuah, said the housing project was a major step towards restoring dignity and rebuilding communities affected by conflict and displacement.
“It is about families rebuilding their lives. It is about communities recovering from hardship. It is about creating opportunities for a more secure and prosperous future,” she said.
She acknowledged the impact of insecurity, displacement and climate-related pressures on communities in North-West Nigeria but commended residents for their resilience.
She, however, said the 152 housing units provide more than shelter; “they provide dignity, stability and a place families can once again call home.”
She added that the rehabilitated cattle market and veterinary clinic would help restore livelihoods and boost local economic activities, while the Climate Peace Centre would provide a platform for communities to strengthen resilience and jointly address climate-related challenges.
“The Climate Peace Centre has created a space where communities can strengthen resilience, manage climate-related challenges and build peaceful solutions together,” Attafuah said.
