Ndudi Anyim
The Kaduna State Government has said 937 suspects were killed, with 1,972 persons kidnapped by bandits in the State in 2020.
The revelation was contained in the Kaduna State 2020 Annual Security Report, received by Governor Nasir El Rufai on Wednesday.
The report which was presented by the State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, stated that victims of the kidnapping, banditry and other criminal activities cut across all ethnic and religious groups in the state, contrary to skewed narratives from some quarters.
” Victims of criminal acts like banditry and kidnapping are to be found across ethnic, religious or political leanings and persuasions,” he said.
Aruwan revealed that of the 937 killed, Igabi Local Governmwnt Area, had the highest figure of 152, followed by Kajuru Local Government Area with a figure of 144.
He added that Birnin Gwari, Igabi, Giwa and Chikun LGAs in Kaduna Central Senatorial District accounted for 468 of the deaths out of the 937 people that died in 2020, representing over 50% of the fatalities recorded 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.
“ 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.’’
Speaking while receiving the report, El-Rufai said that the state has been using its limited tools to address security challenges in the State.
While paying tributes to the victims of insecurity, the governor reiterated his administration’s resolve to protect the people and stop all criminals.
El Rufai said the government has invested in technology to help secure the State, adding that the State had been collaborating with neighboring States to tackle the wave of insecurity.
He said: ” A CCTV network is being deployed in Kaduna metropolis while options for consistent operations of its drones are being explored.
” 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.
” Failure to contain and defeat them in one place has emboldened them to develop a national footprint and endanger national cohesion.”
Calling for the decentralisation of the police, the governor said there are simply not enough Police officers in Nigeria and the idea of policing such a vast, Federal Republic in a unitary manner is not pragmatic.
He also said that the State has been supporting Federal security agencies with vehicles and other logistics since 2015, but added that “ the military and police still 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 be done with sufficient security numbers to overawe and deter criminals,’’ he maintained.