Bandits know our moves even before we make them, Katsina governor laments

By our reporter 7.5.2026
Katsina State governor Dikko Radda said criminal and terror gangs operating in the north are well ahead on information of moves made by the government to arrest them.
Radda disclosed during a Channels TV interview that through the community and even security personal government strategy and plans are being leaked to the bandits.
“The problem we have now is the communities. The communities are not giving the right information. I can say in a way, some of them are helping them,” the governor said.
He identified a notorious bandit leader known as Muhammad as one of the major figures behind attacks in Musawa and Matazu local government areas, adding that the suspect is widely known by residents in the affected communities.
“And this notorious person that is disturbing Musawa and Matazu, we know him. He’s Muhammad. That is his name. Everybody knows him. His father, his mother, and his grandfather were born there,” Radda stated.
The governor disclosed that intelligence leaks have repeatedly frustrated security operations, alleging that confidential discussions within government circles quickly find their way to criminal groups.
“There was a day I called for a meeting here, a high-level security meeting in the Government House on how to operate and deal with the situation. Five minutes after the meeting, he knew what we discussed,” he revealed.
“There are moles among us, moles among the security, moles among the communities. That makes it more challenging.”
Radda said bandits now rely heavily on informants who monitor the movement of security operatives and provide real-time updates that help the criminals evade arrest or prepare attacks.
“Once the security move to the area, his moles among the people in the communities will call him and tell him that the security are coming. They have followed this road. So they will lay ambush for the security.”