Sokoto state government has stated that preparations are well underway to hold the annual security summit between the states of Niger Republic (Dosso, Maradi, and Tahoua) and the states of Nigeria’s North West bordering Niger Republic (Sokoto, Kebbe, Zamfara, and Katsina).
The aim of the meeting is to identify long-term solutions to the insecurity crisis that has forced some Nigerians to relocate to the Niger Republic.
According to a statement signed by Mohammed Bello, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, a date for the bilateral security summit has not been set, but the primary goal will be to strengthen cooperation between the Nigerien region of Maradi and the states of Dosso and Tahoua and the four North-Western states of Nigeria that have displaced persons.
According to him, the governments of the states with displaced people in Maradi will work together with the federal government to restore peace in their impacted areas and throughout Nigeria.
Governor Tambuwal also stated that the security summit would determine how the displaced people will be returned to their homes as soon as it is possible.
He said Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is concerned about the deteriorating security situation and thanked the Niger Republic for its support and cooperation, praising his counterpart, Niger President Muhammad Bazoum, for his efforts to provide shelter to victims of banditry in Maradi and other parts of the country.
Governor Tambuwal has stated that his government will soon dispatch relief materials worth millions of naira to the IDP camps at Dan Dadji Makaou, Shadakori, and Garin Kaka villages in Maradi Region, where Sokoto State indigenes displaced as a result of the activities of some bandits in the state’s eastern flank are being sheltered with the cooperation of the government of Niger Republic, the United Nations, and other international partners.
