‘Bandits know our security plans minutes after meetings’ — Katsina Governor laments presence of moles in his government

• Katsina governor says bandits receive leaked information from insiders.

• He revealed that a notorious bandit knew details of a security meeting minutes after it ended.

• The governor accused some community members of helping criminals.

• He said leaked intelligence has made security operations more difficult.

Speaking during an interview on the worsening insecurity in the state, the governor said some of the criminals terrorising communities are well-known individuals whose identities are no longer a secret to residents.

According to him, one of the notorious bandit leaders troubling parts of Katsina is widely known by name and background within the affected communities.

“But the problem we have is the community,” the governor said.

“The communities are not giving the right information. Some of them are helping him.”

Radda lamented that despite government efforts to strengthen security operations, intelligence leaks continue to frustrate attempts to track and eliminate criminal groups.

He disclosed that there was a time he convened a high-level security meeting at the Government House to discuss strategies for tackling insecurity, only for the bandit leader to become aware of what was discussed almost immediately after the meeting ended.

“Five minutes after the meeting, he knows what we have discussed,” the governor said.

“There are moles who are giving them information among us.”

The governor explained that the problem goes beyond local communities, alleging that informants exist within several layers of society, including among security operatives themselves.

According to him, bandits now rely heavily on insiders to monitor troop movements and security operations.

He said whenever security personnel mobilise to respond to attacks or raids, informants within villages quickly alert the criminals about the routes being taken by security teams, allowing the bandits to prepare ambushes.

“Once the security move to the area, his moles among the communities will call him and tell him that the security have followed this road,” he said.

“So they will lay ambush for the security.”

Radda also revealed that some bandit leaders have allegedly adopted new tactics aimed at manipulating public opinion against the government.

He claimed that certain criminals now enter villages to publicly criticise the government and pressure local residents into demanding that security forces stop pursuing them.

The governor described the situation as extremely difficult, insisting that the level of information available to the criminals suggests they are receiving insider support.

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“Who is that boy to have been doing all these things for us? If he doesn’t have information more than us?” he asked.

Katsina remains one of the states heavily affected by banditry and armed attacks in Nigeria’s North-West region, with communities frequently facing kidnappings, killings and attacks on villages despite ongoing military operations.