El-rufai threatens to employ foreign mercenaries to fight bandits

Governor Nasir El-rufai of Kaduna State has threatened to deploy foreign mercenaries to go against bandits terrorising the North-West state.

Mr El-rufai made the threat on Friday after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja. This is coming two days after he admitted that authorities knew the contact details and hideouts of the criminals he said were doing business last year.

He said himself and his colleagues from other states might be prompted to take action should Mr Buhari continue in his lukewarmness.

Bandits recently stepped up attacks in his domain, particularly in the transportation sector. With a week, the terrorists have attacked the International Airport and a train conveying passengers to the state from Abuja, the nation’s capital.

“I have complained to Mr President, and I swear to God if action is not taken, we as governors will take actions to protect the lives of our people,” Mr El-rufai threatened while addressing newsmen after the meeting.

TODAY POLITICS could not immediately ascertain if he was speaking on behalf of his colleagues at the Nigerian Governors’ Forum.

“If it means deploying foreign mercenaries to come and do the work, we will do it to address these challenges,” he added.

The Buhari administration is aversed to the use of foreign mercenaries to fight terrorists across the country. It brought an end to the practice of its predecessor which aligned with neighboring countries to fight the Boko Haram terrorists.