El-Rufai wants to bomb forests where bandits live

Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, says the most effective way for Nigeria to end the war against bandits is to 'carpet-bomb' forests that have become their hiding places.

The northwest region has especially become a killing field over the past few years with armed gangs wreaking havoc on mostly rural communities, killing thousands and abducting more for ransom.

The Federal Government's military campaigns against the criminals have had isolated periods of success, but largely failed to put a definitive end to their reign of terror.

El-Rufai said in a televised interview this week that security agencies are too overstretched to sustain the Armed Forces' inadequate 'touch-and-go' strategy.

He said the government must improve on the number of security personnel, and invest more in technology and armament to defeat the criminals.

"I've always believed that we should carpet-bomb the forests. We can replant the trees after. Let's carpet-bomb the forests and bomb all of them.

"There will be collateral damage, but it's better to wipe them out and bring peace back to our communities so that agriculture and rural economies can pick up," he said.

The governor said the bombing campaign should take place at the same time in all the states in the northwest so that the bandits have nowhere to go.

Kaduna is one of the worst affected by banditry and violent attacks in the northern region, with 1,825 people killed and 4,525 kidnapped between January 2020 and September 2021, according to the government's own records.