GOVERNOR Dikko Radda of Katsina has alleged that there are moles within government circles, security agencies and local communities who supply information to bandits, thereby aiding criminal operations across Katsina State.
Speaking during an exclusive interview with Channels Television monitored by News Point Nigeria, the governor said the fight against insecurity in the state was being seriously undermined by individuals leaking sensitive security information to criminal groups.
Radda specifically mentioned a notorious bandit identified simply as Mohammed, explaining how informants within government structures and communities allegedly provide intelligence that helps the suspect evade arrest and frustrate security operations.
“This notorious person that is disturbing us — we know him. He is Mohammed; that is his name. Everybody knows him. His father, his mother, and his grandfather were born there. But the problem we have is the community. The communities are not giving the right information. I can say that, in a way, some of them are helping him,” the governor stated.
“It is not a hidden thing because he gets information. The day I called for a high-level security meeting here at the state government on how to operate and deal with the situation, five minutes after the meeting, he already knew what we had discussed.”
According to Radda, the situation has become more alarming as the bandit leader allegedly relies on informants embedded within different institutions to monitor security activities.
“There are moles giving him information among us. In fact, he has even developed a new strategy where he incites villages to protest against the government so they can pressure the government not to pursue him,” he said.
The governor further alleged that informants within affected communities routinely alert the bandits whenever security operatives are mobilised to respond to attacks.
“And whenever there is information about an attack and security operatives move to the area, the moles within the community will call and inform him that security personnel are coming and which route they are taking, allowing them to lay ambushes for the security operatives,” Radda added.
“So, this is the kind of situation we are in. There are moles among us, moles among the security agencies, and moles among the communities.”
Speaking on the issue of negotiations with bandits, despite opposition to the idea by some governors, Radda explained that although he personally does not support negotiating with criminal groups, some communities requested permission to engage the bandits in dialogue.
According to him, the affected communities believed negotiations could help restore peace after suffering prolonged attacks and inadequate protection.
“I was the one who initially took the position against negotiating with bandits. But when the situation became unbearable, the communities approached me and said, ‘Your Excellency, we have met with these people, they are ready to lay down their arms, and we have suffered so much without getting the protection we need from security agencies. Please allow us to negotiate with them if it can bring peace,’” he said.
Radda explained that he eventually allowed the communities to proceed with the negotiations, although he refused to be directly involved in the process.
“I told them they could go ahead, but I would not be part of it. So they proceeded.”
The governor disclosed that some local governments that embraced peace negotiations with bandits had not recorded attacks for more than a year.
“As I speak with you today, there are some local governments that entered into peace negotiations with bandits, and for over a year, there have been no attacks in those places. We now have peace in most of the local governments where these incidents used to occur,” he stated.
“I allowed them because that was what they wanted, and I am a governor based on the people’s mandate. Who am I to reject what they want, as long as it can bring the result we need? What we want is peace.”
Governor Radda, however, maintained that he would not personally initiate negotiations with bandits.
He added that if the bandits approached him for peace talks, he would be willing to negotiate, but only from a position of strength rather than weakness.