The Emir of Argungu, Alhaji Muhammad Samaila Mera, has told residents to legally acquire weapons to protect their communities from persistent bandit attacks.
Speaking at his palace in Argungu on Thursday during a meeting with district, village and ward heads, the Emir also urged better intelligence gathering and information sharing with security agencies. He suggested communities pool funds to buy legally approved arms.
“If you acquire such weapons legally, make sure the bandits are aware that your community possesses the means to defend itself. This alone can serve as a deterrent and discourage attacks,” he said.
He added that Islam does not encourage people to remain helpless. “It is not right for a Muslim to remain passive while criminals kill people, kidnap innocent citizens, and rape our women. Be prepared to defend yourselves, your families, and your communities against any attack,” the Emir stated.
He lamented that many communities are vulnerable for lack of means. “When bandits attack, people start running, including village heads. This is happening because communities do not have adequate means of self-defense,” he added.
The Emir clarified he was not promoting vigilantism or terrorism but lawful self-defense, saying the security problem has grown too big for agencies alone. He warned against ethnic violence and extrajudicial killings: “I will not support anyone carrying arms to attack other ethnic groups or engage in unlawful killings. Many of the attacks we are witnessing today are reprisals. Therefore, I urge you not to carry out revenge attacks against innocent people. Every unlawful killing only breeds another cycle of revenge,” he warned.
He noted members of the Lakurawa have left the area but allegedly left armed bandits behind, and called on communities to stay vigilant, cooperate with security agencies and fear God.
His appeal follows ceaseless attacks and kidnappings across the country.
