Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai warned on Wednesday that bandits could exploit the upcoming transition period to launch bloody attacks in Nigeria. As a result, he urged that security operations against bandits be intensified in the final days of the current administration and beyond. The governor made these remarks during the presentation of a security report by the Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House in Kaduna.
The reviewed security reports revealed that between 2022 and the first quarter of 2023, 1,266 people were killed and 4,973 were kidnapped in a span of 15 months. With less than 40 days until President Muhammadu Buhari’s and 17 governors’ terms end, attacks by suspected terrorists and bandits have increased in states such as Benue, Zamfara, and Niger since the general elections.
El-Rufai called for sustained simultaneous ground and air kinetic actions across the seven frontline states in the North-West zone and Niger to prevent a dangerous lull during the transition period. He emphasized that the security reports showed the persistence of security challenges in the state, including terrorism, banditry, and the toll in killings, kidnappings, injuries, and threats to people’s livelihoods.
The governor expressed his gratitude to the Federal Government for authorizing the launch of combined military and police offensives, and commended the military and security forces for their efforts and sacrifices to uproot the criminals.
