Senior Special Assistant to The President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, has hinted that there are serious suspicions alleging that choppers are being used to convey arms and ammunitions to bandits.
The spokesman while responding to questions regarding the ‘no-fly’ zone order placed by the Federal Government on Zamfara, said the action was necessary so as to boost security within the state.
Speaking on the ban on mining activities in the troubled state, he said there are strong suspicions that gold was being swapped for arms by criminal elements operating in the state.
“Even in Zamfara, there is a strong suspicion that some of those choppers are being used to ferry arms for bandits and also to evacuate gold and illegally smuggled out of the country, so the country loses everything in the mining.
“As you are aware, Nigerian gold market is a big business and the government wants to do two things at the same time by doing this; end banditry and economic sabotage through the smuggling of gold,” he said.
Shehu also alleged that there is a big market in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates called “Nigerian Gold Market”.
Heritage Times had reported that the Zamfara Governor, Bello Matawalle, had kicked against the federal government’s action, wondering if such step could check banditry.
