Unic Press UK: President Buhari has ordered the law enforcing agencies to address the security issues in the southern part of Kaduna State.
A few days’ ago, the Catholic Diocese of Kafanchan raised an alarm over the mind-boggling destruction of lives and property in the southern part of Kaduna:
“Number of LGC’s attacked: 4. Number of Villages attacked: 53. Number of deaths: 808. Number of injured: 57. Number of houses, shops, churches & other properties destroyed: 1,422 houses, 16 Churches, 19 shops, 1 primary school, 5 cars. A conservative estimate of farmlands destroyed, food stuff burnt is estimated at 5.5 billion Naira.” (Catholic Diocese of Kafanchan, December 2016)
Buhari’s order, which was communicated by the senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, is quite commendable. However, the federal government should have reacted much earlier to protect lives and protect, which is the primary duty of the state.
Many Nigerians believe the federal government merely responded to the incessant public outcry to avoid further opprobrium. This seems to be true taking into account the public reaction when the Catholic Church announced that the Fulani/herdsmen had destroyed over 800 human lives.
Why it would take an order from the president for law enforcing agencies to deploy forces to restore order/protect lives and property in a part of Nigeria that is being ravaged by criminals beggars belief.
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The full text of the press release from the senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, on Thursday, the 5th January 2016, reads:
President Muhammadu Buhari has, over the past week, given instructions for decisive measures aimed at bringing an end to the recurring acts of violence and destruction in the Southern part of Kaduna State.
On the directive of President Buhari, the Inspector-General of Police was in the region on Saturday and Sunday to assess the situation at first hand. In addition to the conventional policemen deployed in the area, a squadron of mobile policemen has now been stationed there.
The Nigerian army is also in the process of setting up two battalions in Southern Kaduna while the military continues to carry out air surveillance across flash points of the area.
President Buhari has equally directed the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to carry out a joint assessment of the situation with the sister agency in Kaduna, SEMA, to determine the level of response required for urgent aid to the victims of the violence.
These measures should soon ensure the return of normalcy to the region, while the Kaduna State government continues its peace building efforts.
The President commended efforts of the State government and the security agencies in the steps taken so far to curtail the violence.
President Buhari has, once again, sent condolences to the people of Southern Kaduna, who have lost loved ones in the recent violence.
