Zamfara State governor, Bello Matawalle, has said that he had no regret negotiating with bandits in the state.
Governor Matawalle in a statement on Sunday said that the decision of his government to negotiate with bandits was in the overall interest of the state
He said that amidst heavy presence of the military and relentless offensives against the bandits, the wanton killings and maiming by bandits was still increasing in a fearful manner.
He said, “We applied the peace accord as a means of honest solution to the problem in Zamfara State which has yielded tremendous result never expected in the last one year.
“However, our honesty and focus in the deal saw the near total drop in banditry attacks which allowed our roads, markets, schools and farms to be re-opened.
“In the same vein, nearly 1000 persons were willingly released by the ex-bandits and thousands of dangerous weapons willingly surrendered without payment of a single kobo,” Matawalle said.
The governor said the peace accord initiated by his administration has achieved in his first three months more than what its absence has achieved in eight years.
He noted that the different past peace accords employed in the state or elsewhere totally differ in approach and content from that of his administration.
He added, “We categorically made it clear that money was not part of the negotiations. Everyone must come to the table with honesty and genuine intention to end the carnage in our state. Nobody was enjoying the trend, including the so-called bandits.”