Hits: 31
“My administration will not negotiate with bandits or grant them amnesty”….. el-Rufai declares.
“If not for the security agencies prompt intervention they would have wiped out the entire villages”.
“We have put in place, security personnel to patrol the affected areas in Kaduna state and they are working round the clock, alongside other sister agencies to address the situation”, Kaduna state Police Command.
Insecurity, across the northwest states of Nigeria, is attaining a worrisome dimension especially in Kaduna state, with the most recent being the attacks on the first day of March, 2020 on some communities in Giwa and Igabi Local Government Councils by armed bandits, the Kaduna state.
The brazen and dastardly attacks, which resulted to deaths, has seen the Governor of Kaduna state, Mallam Nasir Ahmed el-Rufai to come out, talking tough.
An obviously worried Nasir El-Rufai in a solemn declaration on Monday, following his visit to the affected communities to condole with the victims declared that his administration would not negotiate with bandits or grant them amnesty.
The Governor made these remarks while on the spot assessment visit to Karewa and four other villages in Igabi and Giwa local government where 51 villagers were massacred by bandits in an early morning attack on Sunday.
While on the visit to the affected victims of the communities, the Governor also apologized for his administration’s inability to protect the people.
News reports revealed that four houses and six vehicles were reportedly destroyed in the attack while search by the villagers for their missing family members.
The Governor noted that if not for the intervention of the personnel of security agencies, the situation would have been worse.
“If not for the security agencies prompt intervention they would have wiped out the entire villages”, he said.
“I also came to apologize for failure to protect you fully, we are doing our best to minimize such incidents, you should continue to forgive us”.
“But we are doing the best we can and we are hoping that this banditry issue will be addressed because security personnel are on ground to manage the situation”.
He lamented the land mass of the state saying it poses as a challenge in securing the state.
“In Kaduna we have vast land. If the security close one area they attack another area”, he lamented.
The governor told the villagers that he had asked the security agencies to wipe out the bandits.
“It is our duty to wipe them out, and until we send them to their maker, the security agencies are taking the war to the forest and we are eliminating them”, he said.
According to him, security operatives intervened shortly after the attack, both on ground and in the air, and succeeded in wiping out the attackers.
“The security agencies are doing the best they can, but they find it difficult to get to remote areas in good time due to poor access roads while the natives also find it difficult to get to security personnel due to poor GSM network”.
“But I am grateful to the Air Force, Army, Police and the DSS for being always prompt otherwise it would have been worse”.
The Governor urged the people to continue to be patient and vigilant, as well as support government and security agencies to win the war against the bandits.
Gov. el-Rufai prayed for peaceful repose of the souls of those who died and directed the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to provide relief materials for the victims.
On the Governor’s entourage to the scene of the attacks are the GOC 1 Division, the Kaduna state Commissioner of Police and the Kaduna state Director of the DSS.
Others are Chairmen of Igabi and Giwa local councils and other government functionaries in the state.
Earlier at the visit, District Head of Karewa, Alhaji Ibrahim Damu called on the state government to intensify efforts in tackling security challenges in the area, as the people were living in constant fear.
He also urged residents to be vigilant at all times.
According to the Police Public Relations Officer of the Kaduna state Police Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Muhammad Jalige, “we have a robust working synergy with our sister security agencies, in place and we are determined to flush them from their hideouts. We have deployed more personnel to the affected areas and to other parts of the state to ensure that such attacks do not re-occur. We are not relenting in our efforts to ensure that we protect the lives and properties of the citizens”.