Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda has announced new measures aimed at strengthening security and supporting victims of banditry in the state.
Speaking on Monday through a statement signed by Bala Zango, commissioner for information and culture, and Maiwada Dammallam, director-general media to the governor, Mr Radda said the government will provide industrial tools to repentant bandits as part of its social reintegration programme.
He said the government will also build 152 houses and provide business support packages for displaced households in Jibia Local Government Area.
“The state government is planning to provide 152 IDP homes in Jibia for displaced families, plus business support packages, cattle and industrial tools for repentant individuals preventing violence relapse,” the governor stated during a high-level consultation meeting held on Sunday in Katsina to discuss security, governance and development.
The governor reiterated that security remains the top priority in his development agenda, alongside education, agriculture, healthcare, micro, small and medium enterprise support, and revenue generation. He acknowledged criticisms of government policies but emphasised openness to constructive feedback.
Deputy Governor Faruk Lawal-Jobe, who also featured in the statement, disclosed that the state government had created 35,903 jobs under its Building Your Future Policy.
He listed teacher recruitment, ward head appointments, and engagement of community watch members, vigilantes, hunters, and religious leaders as some of the strategies adopted to drive peacebuilding initiatives.
Mr Lawal-Jobe revealed that the Katsina State Urban Renewal project across Daura, Funtua, and Katsina Senatorial Districts consumed N74.9 billion.
He said major infrastructure projects included the 24-kilometre Eastern Bypass construction, eight other dualisation roads in Katsina town, reconstruction of roads in Daura and Funtua, and completion of rural roads.
He added that 160 new classrooms had been built, 258 rehabilitated, 18,000 teachers trained, three model schools established, and 152 schools upgraded under the AGILE project. He further said exam fees were fully paid, and N6.18 billion scholarships were awarded to 174,451 students, including overseas sponsorships.
The deputy governor also highlighted agricultural support, including the annual distribution of 400,000 bags of subsidised fertiliser, procurement of 400 tractors, provision of 4,000 irrigation pumps, and the launch of the Goat Rearing Initiative to empower women and herders.
On workers’ welfare, he confirmed the payment of N24 billion in gratuities, wage awards, Ramadan packages, civil service reforms, and large-scale food distributions.
He added that 260 ward-level primary health centres had been built or upgraded, general hospitals renovated, dialysis and diagnostic centres established, and a pharmaceutical production unit created.
He said N14.6 billion was invested in water projects, major dams completed, irrigation schemes expanded, and hand pumps converted to solar-powered boreholes. He noted that the energy sector recorded ₦3.84 billion worth of solar mini-grid projects, 74km of solar streetlight installations, power line restoration, and transformer upgrades.
Commissioner for internal security and home affairs, Nasiru Mu’azu, attributed rising banditry to greed, envy, natural resource conflicts linked to climate change, and long-standing social injustices.
He explained that banditry spread from five LGAs between 2011 and 2015 to 25 LGAs after the collapse of the previous amnesty programme. He clarified that the peace agreements in DanMusa, Jibia, Batsari, Kankara, Kurfi, and Musawa LGAs were entirely community-driven.
