From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-rufai , yesterday, disclosed that his government has written to the Federal Government, requesting it to formally declare both bandits and kidnappers as terrorists to enable security agencies kill them without much consequences on international law.
Governor El-rufai stated this after receiving the third quarter of the year security report from the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan.
Aruwan had earlier informed that bandits killed 343 and kidnapped 830 persons, while 210 others were injured in the last three months.
He added that 69 bandits were killed by troops during the period under review.
He said there was a total of 888 cases of killings, 2 553 kidnappings and 720 injured by bandits from January to September respectively.
However, in his remarks, El-Rufai said:”We in the Kaduna State Government, have always aligned with the declaration of bandits as insurgents and terrorists. We have written letters to the Federal Government since 2017, asking for this declaration because it is the declaration that will allow the Nigerian military to attack and kill these bandits without any major consequences in international law. So, we support the resolution by the National Assembly and we are going to follow up with a letter of support for the Federal Government to declare these bandits and insurgents as terrorists so that they will be fair game for our military. This is the view of the Kaduna State Government.”
He said state governments in the North-West and North-Central have adopted unconventional approach to help federal security agencies to better protect communities, saying there was no alternative to launching simultaneous operations.
“I call for a consensus between the Federal Government and the 36 states on an emergency programme of recruitment into the security agencies. Government can change the game significantly by hiring 1,000 willing youths from each of the 774 LGAs in the country into security agencies. This will be a surge in numbers that is unprecedented since the civil war. An influx of 774,000 new boots on the ground will be a significant blow against criminals and an employment boost,” he said.
“I wish to appeal to all the citizens and residents of Kaduna State to remain law abiding and to uphold peace in their communities as best as they can. On behalf of the state government, I offer our sympathy for all the pains and sorrow insecurity is causing despite our sincere and consistent efforts and investments of hard-earned resources. I assure you that we are working hard to solve this problem and it is our solemn duty to do so. We offer our condolences to the security agencies and the families of the security officers that have been killed while trying to keep our people safe.”