Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has called for increased security operations against bandits in Nigeria. Speaking during the presentation of a security report by the Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, El-Rufai warned that bandits could take advantage of the transition period to launch bloody attacks in the country.
The reviewed 2022 annual and first quarter 2023 security reports indicated that 1,266 and 4,973 persons were killed and kidnapped respectively in 15 months. The tenure of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari(retd.) and 17 governors will come to an end in less than 40 days.
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El-Rufai observed that the reports on the security situation in the state provided detailed data on the persistence of the security challenges in the state. The governor stressed the importance of providing citizens with consistently accurate accounts of what is going on and on the measures being taken to address security challenges.
He called for sustained simultaneous ground and air kinetic actions across the seven frontline states of the North-West zone and Niger which had contiguous forest ranges and is most heavily impacted by the security challenge.
El-Rufai thanked the Federal Government for finally authorising the launch of the combined military and police offensives. He also commended the military and security forces for their efforts and sacrifices as they work to uproot the criminals. However, he noted that there had been some slight year-on-year improvement in fatalities and other incidences of criminality across the state between 2021 and 2022.
The governor appealed for an escalation of security operations over the 39 days remaining until the end of the tenure of the current administration and beyond so that the change of baton at the federal level does not result in a dangerous lull that criminal outlaws can exploit.
In a related development, the police in Benue State paraded nine suspected cattle rustlers in connection with the recent killings in three communities in the Apa, Otukpo and Guma Local Government Areas of the state. The series of attacks on Igbobi, Umogidi and Mgban communities claimed no fewer than 130 lives with many displaced.
El-Rufai expressed gratitude to the security agencies, particularly the Army, Air Force, Navy, Police, Civil Defence, Department of State Services and others for constant collaboration with the state’s Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs in the hard work of securing the state.
The governor stressed that the Kaduna State Government will continue to do everything within the powers of a state to enhance security.
The interventions since 2015 include supporting the federal security agencies deployed in the 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.
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