Kaduna needs more attention from the authorities

Thisday Editorial

Last Sunday, 28 students kidnapped by armed gunman from Bethel Baptist School on the outskirts of Kaduna were reunited with their families. But the joy of parents and relatives was suppressed because 87 other students, abducted since July 5, are still in captivity. Schools in many of the northern states have become regular targets for kidnappings by armed groups seeking ransom. The abduction at Bethel Baptist was the fourth mass kidnapping in an educational institution within the state in the past five months.

While presenting the state security incidents report for the second quarter of 2021, Governor Nasir El-Rufai had expressed concern over the escalating insecurity in Kaduna State. “The data on security incidents in the state during the second quarter of 2021 reflects the real agony of our citizens and communities, their pains and losses, and the fears and anxiety that have created considerable distress,” he said. In the first three months of this year, some 323 people were killed while 949 persons were kidnapped by bandits in the state. The second quarter security report presented by the government last week, covering April to June 2021, showed a slight decline in violence as some 222 persons were killed and 774 people kidnapped by bandits. But recent weeks have been characterised by mass abduction of school children, an action that triggered the closure of schools in rural communities by the state government. There are also reports that the bandits now collect levies from farmers in many of the communities before they could cultivate their fields.

Across the state, banditry has become a daily occurrence as homes and places of work in rural communities are regularly attacked. No one is safe and victims could be abducted in broad daylight. Some high profile-individuals have also fallen victims of the general

lawlessness that now pervades the state. Recently, the Emir of Kajuru, Alhaji Alhassan Adamu, was abducted alongside 13 members of his family. Although the emir was released about 30 hours later, his family members are still in custody of their captors. Meanwhile, the family compound of the paramount ruler of Atyab, Sir Dominic Yahaya in Zangon-Kataf local government area of the state was reportedly razed by some militia in addition to other revered places of worship during recent attacks on several villages. Hundreds of people were reportedly killed while many homes were burnt.

While the entire northwest is witnessing frightening violence, Kaduna is increasingly becoming the vortex of insecurity in the region, particularly in the last one year. Some attribute the pressure and convergence of criminal activities on the state as a test of the state government courageous stance on the payment of ransom. El-Rufai has stated repeatedly that he would not pay ransom to anybody. But the security crisis in Kaduna is also traced to other overlapping factors, chiefly the farmer-herder conflict over access to land use between communities as well as criminal gangs engaged in general banditry, cattle stealing and kidnapping for ransom. The situation of course has been exacerbated by the socio-economic conditions in the country. With the highest rate of unemployment, the capital of the north has become the recruiting ground for criminal gangs.

Against the background that many of the hitherto engaged youths have been thrown into unemployment in the wake of the economic crisis aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the security challenge is expected. But the response by the government to curtail the social malaise has been largely ineffectual. The Joint Military Task (JTF) under the mandate of Operation Accord has also not performed optimally due largely to the overwhelming and escalating violence. There is therefore an urgent need for the authorities to deal with the situation before the state descends into anarchy.