The spate of insecurity in the country, particularly in the North, has long reached an alarming stage; therefore, the latest cry for help by the governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, did not come as a surprise.

Kaduna state has been ravaged by banditry and kidnappings, resulting in loss of innocent lives and the destruction of properties. Education has also been greatly hampered due to incessant abduction of school children and their teachers, as well as students in the tertiary institutions.

While some of the students kidnapped are still languishing in captivity, some have been murdered by their abductors. Some others, have regained freedom after parents paid ransom to the bandits.

The acts of terrorism in most northern states, have led to the closure of schools for a certain period of time to ensure the safety of students. In Kaduna state, reports state that no fewer than 5,000 public and private primary and secondary schools were shut down late last year, due to the rampaging bandits and kidnappers who at some point, appeared to be only interested in attacking schools.

READ ALSO: Ex-Kaduna council candidate and his friend shot dead in Abuja 

The government of the state, later in January 2022, in a notice for school resumption for the second term of the new academic session, directed schools to open four days a week, so as to avoid complete collapse of education in the state.

The directive was also said to be to ‘enhance productivity as it would allow workers to focus on their families, and improve work-life balance, and also to enable workers focus on agriculture.

During the week, Governor El-Rufai revealed details of the level of devastation that has taken place in Kaduna, which are all the handiwork of bandits, who kidnap, massacre people and burn down their houses.

The governor who made the revelations at the presentation of the state’s 2021 Annual Security Report, held at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna, while receiving reports of the state’s security challenges, stated that “The report shows that in 2021, an average of 9 persons were kidnapped daily across Kaduna State, mostly in the Kaduna Central senatorial district.

“There is also an escalation in the number of persons killed, rising to a whopping 255 compared to those sadly killed by banditry and criminality in 2020 in spite of our best efforts in supporting the Federal security agencies to bring an end to this phenomenon”.

The 2021 Security Report, El-Rufai noted, “Is the second annual presentation on security incidents in Kaduna State to be published since 2019. Like the 2020 maiden edition, the report is a sobering reading because it is a factual account of a challenging situation. Its pages contain hard data which reflect the pains inflicted on our people across the state by criminals and outlaws.

“The report also provides background and an update on the steps being taken by the Kaduna State Government to manage this serious challenge”. He also disclosed that as a sub-national, “the Kaduna State Government has always used the limited tools available to it to address these dire times”, adding that “Since 2015, we have supported the federal security agencies deployed in our state with vehicles and other logistics.

“Security incidents in the 2016-2019 periods ranged from communal clashes to cattle-rustling, kidnappings, robberies and murders. Lessons learned from managing these incidents during our first-term informed our decision to establish the first sub-national Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs at the beginning of our second-term in 2019.

“The mandate of the Ministry is to manage the state government’s relationship with the federal security agencies deployed in the state and to coordinate their activities towards securing our people in an atmosphere of unprecedented challenges.

“This entails building strong relationships with these agencies. Through the Ministry, the state is deepening intelligence gathering from communities. It also runs the 24-hour Security Operations Room”.

The spate of insecurity that has taken a huge toll on the people, underscores the importance of collaboration between stakeholders and government in the battle against insurgents, and El-Rufai also corroborates this during the event.

According to him, “The tragic events of 2021 reported today reinforce the importance of collaboration as a security tool. Governors of five front-line states in the North-west zone and Niger State continue to share information and press for the security agencies for a sustained campaign of continuous, simultaneous operations against the terrorists across our vast region.

“The states implemented several measures including the telecoms shutdown as recommended by the security agencies to enable kinetic operations. We commend our people for the sacrifices they made during the shutdown.

“I want to reiterate that some of the measures like prohibition of (a) the sale of petroleum products, (b) operation of weekly markets in selected areas, and (c)  use of motorcycles remain in place until we see clear progress in the fight against the terrorists.

“We are in no doubt that that there must be an urgent national effort to strengthen our security forces. The military and police need modern technology, advanced armaments, equipment and more boots on the ground.

“The security of our communities depends on the robust projection of state power, and that can only be done with sufficient security personnel to overawe and deter criminals. The prerogatives of the state need to be asserted, not merely proclaimed. The people we put in uniform must never be placed in avoidable danger, outgunned or outnumbered by non-state actors”.

“It is when the terrorists are decimated that ‘soft’, non-kinetic peace building will gain traction. Part of the soft tools we have developed in Kaduna State is the Peace Commission, empowered to engage our communities and incline them towards a peaceful resolution of differences.

“We are also supporting the House of Kaduna Family as a vital platform for religious leaders to promote a common humanity across our diversity,” he added.

Governor El-Rufai noted with sadness, the acceleration of violence in Zangon-Kataf, which seems to be speedily spilling into the Chawai part of Kauru Local Council.

“We note with sadness once again, the escalation of violence in Zangon-Kataf Chiefdom, which appears to be rapidly spilling into the Chawai part of Kauru Local Government. We condemn the disregard for human life and the violations of law that are fuelling the crisis. We sympathise with the affected communities.

“This outbreak of violence is a serious challenge to the community level peace process initiated by His Highness, the Agwam of Zangon Kataf and community leaders in the area. While the security agencies keep trying their best, the peacemakers on the ground should not be discouraged. Peace is worth every effort, despite the setbacks encountered”.

Joining a host of Nigerians to condemn the idea of declaring certain individuals as repentant bandits, after they had unleashed mayhem on the people, the governor said “We continue to emphasise that as a state government, we do not believe that there is any phenomenon like ‘repentant bandits’.

“Any person that makes a conscious decision to secure arms, challenge the authority of the Nigerian state, and threatens the lives and property of Nigerians does not deserve to live, or be granted any concession by the society. There are no immediate or remote causes to justify terrorist conduct.

“Those that hide behind these are either ethnic jingoists, religious apologists or fail to recognise that no legitimate government can survive by tolerating terrorists or negotiating with those that menace law-abiding citizens”.

He further recognised the efforts of security officers who have put in so much in the war against insurgency, while at the same time, calling on the federal government to establish a Theatre Command in Kaduna, to intensify the bombardment on the bandits.

“While acknowledging their efforts and sacrifices of lives and limb, we therefore urge our military, police and other security agencies to ensure coordinated actions and intensify simultaneous kinetic operations against these terrorists until they are decimated to the point of surrender.

“The Kaduna State Government appeals to the Federal Government to create a Theatre Command similar to the situation in the North-East to confront the insurgency that has clearly emerged in five states of the North-West and Niger State with continuous and contiguous forest ranges”.

He explained that “The creation of such a Theatre Command will enable holistic approach to counter-insurgent operations across the six affected states and the enhanced coordination of the resources of the Armed Forces, the Police, the SSS, our respective State Vigilance Services, hunters and other local volunteers to fight the insurgents”.

Furthermore, El-Rufai recognised the contributions of the “Emirs and Chiefs for being the leading and influential anchors of peaceful coexistence in our various communities. Our Peace Commissioners and the House of Kaduna Family deserve exceptional recognition and our gratitude.

“We are grateful to the security agencies, particularly the Army, Air Force, Navy, Police, Civil Defence, SSS, our State Vigilance Service and KASTLEA for constant collaboration with our Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs in the hard work of securing the state”.

The Governor further prayed for the repose of the souls of the thousands of innocent people who have been slaughtered by the bandits.

“As we digest these sad statistics, we pray for the repose of the souls of those killed, pay tribute to the victims of various crimes, reiterate our solidarity with them, and reaffirm our resolve to continue to protect our people, and stop the criminals.

“The victims of these outlaws cut across our state, though we note the persistence of certain narratives that try to coat sheer criminality in ethno-religious or regional hues, depending on the identity of the victims.”