The presidential spokesperson,Garba Shehu says President Muhammadu Buhari has directed security agencies to shoot anyone seen with AK-47.
Shehu, who disclosed this in an interview with the BBC, said the president directed a clampdown on bandits who have refused to surrender.
On the efforts being made to rid Zamfara and other northern states of bandits, Shehu said the government is resorting to lethal force.
“The president has ordered security forces to go into the bushes and shoot whoever they see with sophisticated weapons like AK-47,” he said in the interview.
“He ordered that whoever is seen with terrible weapons at all should be shot immediately.”
He noted that the “no-fly zone” order on the Zamfara airspace was informed by reports that helicopters were flown in by gangs engaged in illegal mining of gold deposits in the state, adding that the criminal gangs allegedly supply arms to bandits in exchange.
