Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai yesterday called for the establishment of a theatre command to tackle insecurity in the Northwest and Niger State.
Bandits have turned the region and the state into killing fields, with villages frequently sacked and houses destroyed almost daily.
Between Sunday and Monday, terrorists killed no fewer than 11 people in Niger communities.
Our correspondent learnt that three soldiers, four vigilantes and four villagers were killed in Mariga and Paikoro local government areas.
El-Rufai spoke while receiving the 2021 annual security report presented by the Kaduna Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan.
The governor said there was now an insurgency in the six Northwest states and environs.
Citing the report, he said 1,192 persons were killed by bandits and other violent attacks across the state in 2021.
The report adds that 3,348 people were kidnapped and 891 others injured within the year.
El-Rufai believes the situation requires a dedicated theatre command as it is in the Northeast.
He said: “The Kaduna State Government appeals to the Federal Government to create a Theatre Command similar to the situation in the Northeast to confront the insurgency that has emerged in five states of the Northwest and Niger State with continuous and contiguous forest ranges.
“The creation of such a Theatre Command will enable a 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 (State Security Services), our respective state vigilance services, hunters and other local volunteers to fight the insurgents.”
The governor said at least nine persons were kidnapped daily last year across Kaduna, especially in Kaduna Central.
“There is also an escalation in the number of persons killed by a whopping 255 compared to those sadly 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.
”As we digest these sad statistics, we pray for the repose of the souls of those killed, pay tribute to the victims of various crimes, reiterate our solidarity with them, and reaffirm our resolve to continue to protect our people, and stop the criminals.
“The victims of these outlaws cut across our state, though we note the persistence of certain narratives that try to coat sheer criminality in ethnoreligious or regional hues, depending on the identity of the victims,” El-Rufai said.
The governor said there must be an urgent national effort to strengthen the 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 peacebuilding will gain traction,” El-Rufai said.
He restated his position that bandits do not repent.
“We continue to emphasise that as a state government, we do not believe that there is any phenomenon like ‘repentant bandits’.
“Any person that makes a conscious decision to secure arms, challenge the authority of the Nigerian state and threatens the lives and property of Nigerians does not deserve to live or be granted any concession by the society.
“There are no immediate or remote causes to justify terrorist conduct.
“Those that hide behind these are either ethnic jingoists, religious apologists or fail to recognise that no legitimate government can survive by tolerating terrorists or negotiating with those that menace law-abiding citizens.
“While acknowledging their efforts and sacrifices of lives and limb, we, therefore, urge our military, police and other security agencies to ensure coordinated actions and intensify simultaneous kinetic operations against these terrorists until they are decimated to the point of surrender,” the governor said.
In the Niger attacks, terrorists were said to have ambushed and killed three soldiers who were on patrol, as well as four vigilantes in the Kwanan Dutse community in Mariga.
In Paikoro Local Government Area, four people, including a 20-year-old boy, were killed and several others injured when the terrorists attacked Ishau, Kuna, Amale, Adunu, Kudami communities.
Our correspondent learnt that the insurgents, who came in numbers, were armed with sophisticated weapons, but were forced to retreat by the vigilantes.
Niger Police Command spokesman, Abiodun Wasiu and the Chairman of Paikoro LGA, Mallam Yohana Yakubu, could not be reached to confirm the attacks as their phones rang out.
Over 18 people were killed and 40 injured when terrorists invaded the Galadima Kogo community in Shiroro Local Government Area in Niger at the weekend.
Governor Abubakar Sani Bello, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mary Berje, said the state government had secured clearance to carry out intensive military operations in Shiroro, Munya and Rafi areas.
“We have run out of patience with the terrorists and we’ll use every means possible to bring an end to these incessant bloody attacks on innocent people.
“We will do everything to stop the killings and return normalcy to the affected communities,” he vowed.
