Gov El-Rufai Raises Alarm Over Insecurity Ahead Of Tinubu’s Inauguration

The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has raised an alarm over the high level of insecurity ahead of the May 29 presidential and state inauguration.

El-Rufai raised the alarm on Wednesday 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, Kaduna, the state capital.

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The governor advised the security agencies to step up security across the country because bandits could take advantage of the transition period to launch bloody attacks.

He also advised security operations against bandits to prevent a dangerous lull during the transition period at the federal level which the criminal outlaws could exploit.

El-Rufai called for sustained simultaneous ground and air kinetic actions across the seven frontline states of the North-West zone and Niger which had contiguous forest ranges and is most heavily impacted by the security challenge.

The governor thanked the Federal Government for finally authorising the launch of the combined military and police offensives and also commended the military and security forces for their efforts and sacrifices as they work to uproot the criminals.

He said, “I wish to stress that in this region, this vital mission requires a comprehensive and consistent sweep across the North-West and Niger states for sustained success.

“We appeal for an escalation of security operations over the 39 days remaining till the end of the tenure of this administration and beyond so that the change of baton at the federal level does not result in a dangerous lull that criminal outlaws can exploit.

“There is every reason to intensify and sustain simultaneous ground and air kinetic actions across the seven frontline states of the North-West region and Niger which have continuous and contiguous forest ranges and are most heavily impacted by this security challenge.

“On our part, the Kaduna State Government will continue to do everything within the powers of a state to enhance security. We have invested considerable resources and energy in managing security to the extent that the Constitution of our nation permits a sub-national.

“Our interventions since 2015 include supporting the federal security agencies deployed in our state with vehicles and other logistics, collaborating with other frontline states to fund military operations in the 2015-2016 period and investments in security infrastructure and technology.’’

Kaduna Government Efforts

El-rufai revealed that the reviewed 2022 annual and first quarter 2023 security reports indicated that 1,266 and 4,973 persons were killed and kidnapped respectively in 15 months.

The governor said there has been some slight year-on-year improvement in fatalities and other incidences of criminality across the state between 2021 and 2022.

He added that his government is doing its level best to prevent bandit attacks in the state through institutional measures and pragmatic actions on the ground.

Speaking further, he noted, “As the statistics presented show, there has been some slight year-on-year improvement in fatalities and other incidences of criminality across the state between 2021 and 2022. We hope that with your combined efforts, this downward trend will continue towards zero in the shortest possible time.

“The Kaduna State Government does its level best to prevent these sad events through institutional measures and pragmatic actions on the ground.

“These measures include persistent pressures on the Federal Government to launch comprehensive and sustained military operations against the terrorists and criminal elements that are menacing our people and their lives, liberty and livelihoods.

“We note with gratitude that the military initiated offensive security operations against the bandits in the last half of 2022. As observed earlier, this helped to improve the security situation in many of our communities but these operations must obviously be widened and sustained as the most effective way to protect our people and uphold law and order.”