Matawalle commended the security forces for efforts made to free the girls and urged them to put an end to banditry in the state.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Zamfara State Governor Bello Matawalle on Monday received five girls who were held by bandits for seven months.
The girls are daughters of a former Accountant-General of Zamfara.
They were presented to Matawalle by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 10, Bello Sani-Deljan, accompanied by the Commissioner of Police in Zamfara, Kolo Yusuf.
Bandits took the five girls from their home in Furfuri in Bungudu Local Government Area in March.
The bandits released a video to the social media in October showing the girls carrying sophisticated firearms and threatened to recruit them into banditry if the ransom they demanded was not paid.
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A combined effort of the Police and other security operatives, however, led to the rescue of the girls unharmed.
Matawalle commended the security forces for efforts made to free the girls and urged them to put an end to banditry in the state.
Matawalle noted that intelligence reports showed that the girls were abducted successfully with support from informants who were either family members or close associates.
The governor appealed to citizens of the state to “courageously fight informants by reporting suspects to the authorities without fear.
“Without informants, bandits will be strongly incapacitated and will easily be defeated,’’ the governor said.
He directed that the girls be taken for proper medical checks and counselling before reuniting them with their family.
