…As bandits killed 937 in 2020 in kaduna
By Gabriel Udeh, Kaduna
Kaduna State Governor Mall. Nasir El-Rufai said the State Government has been using its limited tools as a subnational, to address the security challenges facing the state, saying it cut across ethno-religious divides.
The governor who made this remark at the presentation of the 2020 Annual Security Report on Wednesday, paid tributes to the victims of insecurity, reiterating his administration’s ‘’ resolve to continue to protect our people and stop the criminals.’’
El Rufai reiterated that Kaduna state has been supporting the federal security agencies deployed in the state with vehicles and other logistics since 2015.
According to him, Kaduna State Government has also invested in technology to help secure the state, adding that ‘’a CCTV network is being deployed in Kaduna metropolis while options for consistent operations of its drones are being explored.’’
The governor also explained that Kaduna state has been collaborating with neighboring states to tackle insecurity.
‘’Together with Niger State and our neighbours in the North-west, we put together resources to fund military operations against bandits in the Kamuku-Kuyambana forest range that straddles the region.
El Rufai however regretted that this collaboration which was done in 2015, ‘’was not sustained or expanded into a campaign of continuous, simultaneous operations against the bandits across our vast region.’’
‘’Failure to contain and defeat them in one place has emboldened them to develop a national footprint and endanger national cohesion,’’ he argued.
The governor also said that the military and police need modern technology and equipment and more boots on the ground.
‘’The security of our communities depend on the robust projection of state power, and that can only done with sufficient security numbers to overawe and deter criminals,’’ he maintained.
The governor called for the decentralization of policing, arguing that ‘’there simply are not enough police officers in Nigeria and the idea of policing such a vast, federal republic in a unitary manner is not pragmatic.
In his presentation, the Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan said that victims of kidnapping, banditry and other criminal activities cut across all ethnic and religious groups in Kaduna state, contrary to skewed narratives.
‘’Victims of criminal acts like banditry and kidnapping are to be found across ethnic, religious or political leanings and persuasions,’’ he pointed out.
The commissioner noted that the total number of deaths linked to banditry and other forms of violence in 2020 is 937, adding that ‘’of this number, Igabi has the highest figure of 152, followed by Kajuru with a figure of 144.’’
According to Aruwan, Birnin Gwari, Igabi, Giwa and Chikun local governments in Kaduna central senatorial district account for 468 deaths out of the 937 people that died last year, representing over 50% of the entire fatalities in the state.
‘’The southern senatorial district accounts for 286 deaths, which is about one third of the total, due in large part to sporadic clashes , alongside banditry which triggered attacks and counter-attacks, especially between June and November 2020,’’ he added.
Aruwan further said that ‘’out of 1,972 people kidnapped in the period under review, Kaduna Central Senatorial district accounts for 1,561 and out of the total, 1,461 were kidnapped within Birnin Gwari, Igabi, Giwa and Chikun local government areas.’’
