Governor of Niger state, Abubakar Sani-Bello has said that criminals posing as repentant bandits tricked the state to believe they have repented to get more money to buy weapons for their heinous attacks.

He stated this while speaking to a vigilante group at Mariga local government area on Thursday.

The governor said the state government had ceased all forms of dialogues with bandits owing to their trickery.

”From experience, it has been discovered that the repentant bandits, after collecting cash from the dialogue option, they will purchase more weapons and return to their old ways of banditry,” he said.

Sani-Bello, however, noted that Niger state government will continue to forgive any bandit that surrenders his weapons and repent from his heinous ways and would be provided a means of livelihood, though not necessarily with cash.

Any bandit that surrenders his weapons and repents from his heinous way of living would be forgiven and provided with a means of livelihood which would not necessarily include any cash backing,” Mr. Sani-Bello added.

The governor also commended the effort of the local vigilantes, assuring them that plans of compensation for those who lost their lives in the fight against banditry is underway and would remain a continuous exercise.

He also added that local vigilantes would be provided with automatic Pump Action Guns among other sophisticated weapons.