Two thousand Nigerians and foreign nationals have been rescued from kidnappers in Zamfara State, Governor Bello Matawalle has said.
The governor said they were rescued in the past 19 months under his watch, adding that the feat was made possible by using former bandits as negotiators.
Matawalle gave the information when he hosted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) Uche Secondus who was in Abuja to condole him on the loss of eight members of the emir’s entourage.
According to him, no ransom was paid in the rescuing of kidnapped victims in the state, adding that logic and dialogue had always been deployed.
The governor stated that President Muhammadu Buhari was adequately briefed on every security measures undertaken to secure lives and properties.
Matawalle said his resolve to operate an open door policy was to offer support to security agencies in the state.
He said: “We have recovered a lot of dangerous weapons which was given to the security agencies of Nigeria and we have rescued about 2,000 kidnapped victims including some foreign nationals.
“These include people from China, Korea, Niger republic, Burkina Faso and even Central Africa who were kidnapped and taken to Zamfara state.
“All we are concerned with is to see our people go to sleep with their eyes closed and that is the responsibility of every government to provide security for the lives and properties of which we are doing.”
Matawalle urged all state governors to put aside political differences and put a united front to rid the country of all criminal elements and activities, especially banditry.
Secondus, who warned that in the absence of law and order there would be anarchy, said “security and hunger knows no party.”
He described as an “uncommon feat” the rescue of the over 300 students of the Government Science Secondary School, abducted from Kankara, Katsina State.