The Presidency has blamed the worsening security problems in Southern Kaduna on revenge killings, saying that the insecurity challenges in this area of Kaduna state, is more complicated than many people are willing to admit.
The Presidency, in a statement released on Tuesday 21st July 2020, by Malam Garba Shehu, who is the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, said:
“From available records, Southern Kaduna enjoys comprehensive security deployments, including the Army, Special Forces of both the Army and the Air Force, surveillance aircraft by the Air Force and mobile police units that are on the ground on a 24-hour basis to forestall criminality and keep the peace.
“But unlike other parts of the country, the problem of Southern Kaduna is more complicated than many critics are ready to acknowledge and understand.
“From available security records, the problem in Southern Kaduna is an evil combination of politically-motivated banditry, revenge killings and mutual violence by criminal gangs acting on ethnic and religious grounds.
“It is a situation in which one criminal group will kill a member of another criminal group out of ethnic and religious motivations which in turn leads to the eruption of revenge and counter-revenge, thereby making the job of the security personnel deployed to protect lives more difficult.
“We note that revenge and counter-revenge only creates a circle of violence, thereby making everyone else unsafe, especially innocent people.
“The presidency advises the people against taking the law into their own hands which makes the job of security personnel more difficult.’’ Shehu advised local authorities to always report any security breach or threat to peace to the law enforcement agencies.
“What is required is for the local authorities to radically improve their intelligence capabilities so that security agencies will be alerted in a timely manner to enable them to forestall any planned attacks,’’ he added.
Meanwhile, President Buhari has condemned the recent attacks by bandits in Igabi, Birnin Gwari and Giwa local government areas of Kaduna state. The president made the condemnation in a statement issued by Shehu, urging security agencies to intensify their response.