Why It Is Difficult To End Southern Kaduna Killings – Presidency

The Presidency has given reasons why the government is finding it difficult to end the incessant attacks and killings in Southern Kaduna by armed gunmen.

Only recently, no fewer than 29 people were reportedly killed by unknown gunmen in the area while the perpetrators are yet to be apprehended.

Explaining the reason why the situation still persist despite efforts in the deployment of troops, Special Forces of both the Army and the Air Force and other security interventions, Garba Shehu said the “insecurity in Southern Kaduna State is more complicated than many people are willing to admit”.

“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,” Shehu said in a statement on Tuesday.

“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. Instead, they should report any security breach or threat to peace to the law enforcement agencies.”

The media aide further stated that peace could still be achieved if local authorities “radically improve their intelligence capabilities so that security agencies will be alerted in a timely manner to enable them forestall any planned attacks”.

He added, “The Presidency in the same manner condemns the recent attacks by bandits in Igali, Birnin Gwari and Giwa local government areas of the State while urging security agencies to intensify their response.”