The district head of Kankara, Yusuf Lawal, has been suspended by the Katsina Emirate Council for allegedly sponsoring the activities of bandits in the region
The suspension followed widespread insecurity in Kankara, Katsina State, which is also President Muhammadu Buhari’s home state.
In a statement on Sunday, Katsina Emirate’s secretary, Iro Bindawa said Lawal’s immediate suspension followed residents’ complaints of his villainous activities.
The secretary added that the fate of the district head will be decided after investigation has been concluded.
It is not clear whether or not Lawal has been handed over to the police, according to Peoples Gazette.
Katsina and other northern states have remained a hotspot for kidnapping and banditry in Nigeria.
In December 2020, armed men suspected to be bandits invaded the Government Science Secondary School in the Kankara Local Government Area of the state, killing a security guard and kidnapping over 300 students.
The students were freed after negotiations with the Nigerian government that reportedly included a significant ransom.
Jihadist group Boko Haram, while claiming responsibility for the abduction, said the attack was carried out to rein in un-Islamic practices in the school, especially Western education.
Amidst the fear of bandits attacking schools, Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, in March, ordered all boarding schools shut.
Masari’s administration also announced plans to deploy security dogs to protect schoolchildren in state-owned boarding schools.
