The Governor of Katsina State, Dikko Radda, has unveiled a set of tough new security measures aimed at crippling the operations of bandits and kidnappers across the state. The directives were announced after an emergency security meeting held with security agencies and traditional rulers.
Central to the order is a statewide ban on the sale, purchase, transportation and storage of petroleum products in jerry cans. The measure is intended to cut off fuel supplies to criminal groups, depriving them of a resource the authorities say has helped sustain their movement and operations.
The executive order also mandates the immediate closure of all point-of-sale businesses and commercial phone-charging centres in the Matazu and Musawa local government areas. These two councils were singled out for the tighter restrictions under the new directives.
Alongside those closures, the order imposes a total ban on the use of motorcycles in the two local government areas. Motorcycles have long been associated with the mobility of armed groups in parts of the northwest, and the restriction is meant to limit their ability to move freely.
Governor Radda said intelligence reports indicated that some of the affected facilities were being exploited by criminal networks to coordinate and sustain their activities. The measures, he indicated, were designed to close off those channels rather than to punish ordinary residents.
Katsina State has been among the areas in northern Nigeria grappling with banditry and kidnapping, and the latest directives reflect an attempt to confront the problem through restrictions on the logistics that enable it. The governor framed the order as part of a broader push, drawn up with security agencies and traditional rulers, to restore safety across the state.