KADUNA’S THRIVING BANDITRY INDUSTRY: From Jan to March, bandits killed 2 people, kidnapped 8 everyday

On Wednesday, the 19th of April, 2023, the Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, made a presentation, a sad one, to the state Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, in which he reeled out statistics on the insecurity situation in the state.

According to Aruwan, in Kaduna State alone, between January and March 2023, a whooping 214 people were killed while 746 were kidnapped by bandits in the state.

He said: “The report also indicated that of the 746 people kidnapped, Kaduna central senatorial district accounted for 492 victims followed by Kaduna south senatorial district with 221 while 33 people were abducted in Kaduna north senatorial district.”

For ease of understanding, Aruwan told Governor El-Rufai that between January and March, 2023, an average of two persons were killed and eight kidnapped on a daily basis!

He however did not clarify if the people killed were part of those kidnapped, or if they were killed in separate incidences.

For Aruwan, who has been dubbed the Commissioner of Tragedy by many, his report to the governor forms part of the unfortunate statistics he reels out to the media from time to time.

This latest report, only confirms the sad reality of what has become of the once peaceful and thriving Kaduna State. It also confirms that Kaduna, and not Zamfara is the hotbed of banditry in Nigeria, one that unfortunately comes with tribal and religious undertones.

It is also unfortunate that Governor El-Rufai and the Kaduna State government, has not done more than paying lip service to the plight of residents of the state, especially in the southern part.

READ ALSO:Death toll in Southern Kaduna killings rise to 33 as victims get mass burial

During the presentation of Aruwan’s first quarter security report, El-Rufai, as usual, said his administration would sustain the fight against insecurity, and protect lives, and property in the state. This, unfortunately, has been the usual promise by El-Rufai and his administration, yet residents of Kaduna hardly sleep with both eyes closed.

Speaking further, El-Rufai said: “These measures include persistent pressures on the federal government to launch comprehensive and sustained military operations against the terrorists and criminal elements that are menacing our people and their lives, liberty, and livelihoods.

“There is every reason to intensify and sustain simultaneous ground and air kinetic actions across the seven frontline states of the Northwest region and Niger which have continuous and contiguous forest ranges and are most heavily impacted by this security challenge.

“We have invested considerable resources and energy in managing security to the extent that the Constitution of our nation permits a subnational.

“Our interventions since 2015 include supporting the federal security agencies deployed in our state with vehicles and other logistics, collaborating with other frontline states to fund military operations in the 2015-2016 period, and investments in security infrastructure and technology.”

Without disputing the claims above, it will be safe to ask, what impact has any of these measures or efforts made on the prevailing insecurity in the state?.

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