From Noah Ebije, Kaduna

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has appealed to the Federal Government to create a Theatre Command similar to the one in the North-East to confront terrorists attacks ravaging the five states of the North-West and Niger State which have contiguous forest ranges.

He stated this, yesterday, after he received the state’s 2021 Annual Security Report which indicated that no fewer than 1,192 persons were killed by terrorists while 3,348 were kidnapped and  891 injured in 2021.

The report presented by the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, also showed that 13,788 cows were rustled across the state during the period under review.

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El-Rufai said: “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. 

“We are in no doubt 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. The report presented today  shows that in 2021, and an average of nine 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 by 255 compared to those 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.”