Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State on Monday said 155 persons had been killed by bandits in less than a month in the state, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
According to NAN, Yari disclosed this in a statewide broadcast on the security challenges facing the state.
He also said over 50 persons had been kidnapped during the period.
Yari explained that 53 persons were killed in Shinkafi Local Government Area; 50 in Maru Local Government Area; 37 in Maradun Local Government Area; and 15 in Zurmi Local Government Area.
The governor said even though the Federal Government had launched a military operation against the bandits in July, the criminals regrouped and returned with vendetta, killing and kidnapping innocent people and demanding large sums of money as ransom.
He said after a meeting with stakeholders in the state on Monday, the state government had set up a crisis management committee comprising security agents, civil servants, legislators and retired security agents.
The governor said the body was charged with the responsibility of assessing the damages caused by the activities of the hoodlums to enable the government to assist the victims.
Yari appealed to the Federal Government to deploy more military personnel to the state to defeat the bandits.