Bandits, Criminals Kill 222, Abduct 774 Persons In Three Months – Kaduna Govt

BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – The Kaduna State government admitted on Tuesday that it has been a difficult last three months for the state with the loss of 222 lives and 774 kidnapped persons as a result of banditry and other violent crimes.

Presenting a security report for the period under review, the government also confessed that bandits are now collecting levies from farmers in communities across 12 local government areas of the state while issuing permits at intervals for them to access and cultivate their farmlands.

In the report presented to Governor Nasir El-Rufai and other top government functionaries, the Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, further disclosed that 266 citizens were injured across the state, with 8,553 cows and other livestock rustled by bandits and other criminal elements during the period.

According to the report, 87 bandits were killed within the period, even as “Banditry, violent attacks, communal clashes and reprisals in the second quarter accounted for 222 deaths across the State.

“Of this total, nine were women and eight were minors (below the age of 18). Of the total number, 159 deaths were recorded in Kaduna Central Senatorial District (72% of the total recorded).”

Furthermore, the report stated that about 156 of these unfortunate incidents “occurred in Birnin Gwari, Giwa, Igabi, Chikun and Kajuru LGAs. Igabi LGA recorded 44 deaths, and Birnin Gwari LGA 42. Chikun LGA had 37, and Giwa LGA 21. Kajuru LGA recorded 12 deaths in the second quarter.

“Southern Kaduna Senatorial District had 54 deaths in total, of which five were women and four were below the age of 18. Kachia LGA had 21 deaths, followed by Jema’a LGA with 14, and Kauru LGA with six. While the Northern Senatorial District recorded nine people killed in the second quarter (around 4% of the total)

“Out of the 774 people kidnapped in the second quarter, Kaduna Central Senatorial District accounts for 555 (nearly 72% of the total). Birnin Gwari, Giwa, Igabi, Chikun and Kajuru LGAs recorded 550 of these. Chikun LGA had 148 citizens kidnapped, Igabi had 139, while 91 persons were kidnapped from Giwa LGA. Kajuru LGA had 89 kidnapped citizens, and Birnin Gwari LGA recorded 83.

“Southern Kaduna Senatorial District recorded 164 kidnapped persons, with Kachia LGA reporting the highest number of 111. The Northern Senatorial District recorded 55 kidnapped persons, with 37 of these from Zaria LGA.”

Reeling out more sad incidents from the report, Aruwan said; “In total, 239 women, and 32 minors were kidnapped in the second quarter across the State. Twenty (20) persons were reported to have been raped across the State from April to June 2021. Thirteen (13) of these were minors. Ten (10) rape cases were reported from the Southern Kaduna Senatorial District, comprising five minors. Eight (8) of the cases were recorded in the Northern Senatorial District, with seven of them minors. Four (4) cases were reported from Soba LGA.

“A notable case was the rape of an eight-year-old boy, who was sodomized by an adult in Hunkuyi, Kudan LGA. This case – as with other cases where perpetrators have been apprehended. The case is being pursued by the appropriate agencies to ensure the swift dispensation of justice.”

The Internal Security and Home Affairs Commissioner also said; “Citizens injured across the state as a result of banditry, violent attacks, reprisals and communal clashes numbered 266 in total. Eighteen (18) of these were women, and five were below the age of 18, adding that “8,553 heads of cattle were rustled in the state in the second quarter, with most stolen from the Kaduna Central Senatorial District, which accounted for around 67% of the total (5,715)”.

Painting an obviously helpless picture for the State government, Aruwan confessed that banditry has hindered farming activities in the state, saying; “Bandits attack and abduct farmers working on (or on their way to) their fields. Several farmers have similarly been killed. Furthermore, bandits have begun to extract protection levies from some communities in return for permission to cultivate their fields.

“Many farmers in these areas, fearing for their lives and safety, have abandoned their fields altogether. This has already begun to affect crop yields, and the threat of food insecurity looms large.

“The most affected communities are in the frontline local government areas of Birnin Gwari, Igabi, Giwa, Zaria, Chikun, Kauru, Kajuru, Kachia, Kagarko, Zangon Kataf, Jema’a and Sanga.”

Aruwan also explained that banditry and other forms of criminality have resulted in the near-comatose state of the local economy in frontline areas, which is mainly sustained by crop and livestock farming.

“The activities of bandits in these areas have dispossessed residents of their foremost means of sustenance and disrupted the operation of the usually dynamic weekly markets”, the Commissioner said, adding that the state government’s strategies to address the security challenges affecting the state have been sustained through the second quarter of 2021.

In another development, the Kaduna State Police Command has announced the cheering news that one of the 121 students kidnapped from Bethel Baptist High School, Kaduna last week and two other kidnap victims have been rescued from their abductors.

The Command said its operatives and some personnel of the Civilian-JTF freed the three victims during a routine rescue and patrol mission around the Tsohon Gaya village forest in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

A statement issued by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, ASP Mohammed Jalige said the two others rescued were among those abducted recently along Kaduna-Kachia Road in the North-West State.