Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs SAMUEL ARUWAN, over sees all the military operations in Kaduna state. In this interview, he talked about government’s efforts in making southern Kaduna as well as Birnin Gwari, Giwa and Chikun local governments more secure.
Last week, the Nigerian Air Force deployed Special Forces to southern Kaduna. Why is it necessary to make such deployments, when there are troops of Operation Safe Haven, a permanent military base and a Mobile Police Squadron in the area?
Well, it is to complement existing security assets and efforts on the ground in southern Kaduna general area. And it may interest you to know that the first detachment of Special Forces that were deployed, was actually done on the 11th of June, when the renewed violence started. After that, a second batch of the Special Forces of Nigerian Army were also deployed to the area and like you mentioned, the last one was that of the Air Force. Yes, it’s true, the Sector 7 of Operation Safe Heaven is here in Kafanchan with a large number of officers and men who were deployed to different flashpoints in the five local government areas of Kaduna South senatorial district. They are there alongside with the mobile police detachment or squadron in Kafanchan. It may also interest you to know that, as we speak, there are two mobile squadrons on the ground. MOPOL 1 from Kaduna was deployed alongside the Kafanchan mobile police squadron. This is in addition to the Kafanchan Police Area Command, including personnel of Department of State Services, as well as personnel of the Civil Defense corps. So, in a nutshell, all these deployments are to consolidate and to ensure that the general area is protected. Like you know, the Air Force is coming with air power, carrying out air fighting patrols.
Government has been arguing that only the commitment of the communities to peace will end the insecurity in southern Kaduna, rather than boots on the ground. Be this as it may, what efforts is Kaduna State Government doing to enhance peace building, apart from sending troops to secure the area?
Well, beyond boots on the ground, there are two approaches to ensuring security in the area, which the government is employing simultaneously. There is the kinetic and non-kinetic. Now, if we’re talking about security assets on the ground, that is kinetic; you’re talking about the use of force, the use of military and police action, where it is necessary. But the non kinetic involves engagement, whereby the government talks to communities to embrace one another. In the process, we also appeal to communities to recourse to the law because we are not living in a Banana Republic, we are living under the law. And since 2015 to date, the position of Kaduna State Government has been very clear and consistent. If there is a case where pastoralists come under attack, what they should do is to report to security agencies – on no account should they carry out an aggression or an attack on a sleeping community because of the proximity of where a herder was attacked, or a header’s cattle are rustled. And on the other side, government is also appealing to communities that if someone goes to the farm and he is missing, what they should do is to report to security agencies. Also, we are asking them not to hide or keep any unusual or suspicious event or movement that they notice, to themselves; they should try and reach out to security agencies so that we will know in a very good time that there is a problem. Communities should not hide people that commit crime because they share the same religion or ethnicity or political affiliation with the culprits; this is what we’ve been preaching.
In addition to these engagements, the government has set up the Kaduna State Peace Commission, which has been working since 2017. The mandate of the commission is to work on signs or symptoms of violence and they’ve been doing a lot of outreach, engaging critical stakeholders. And again, we are also strengthening the law, we are strengthening the justice system. Like you know, over 14 magistrates were recently appointed and we’re doing a lot of follow up with the police and the Minister of Justice, to track all cases that are ongoing. This is to also ensure that there’s retribution for every action when someone does what is wrong, whether by inciting or any act that an individual or groups carry out that cause problems. We make sure that we do what is right and that is part of peace building. The governor has been reaching out to traditional institutions, religious groups, senior citizens, opinion leaders, community leaders. This is part of what the state government is doing.
We also have what we call Kaduna State Security Operations Centre. It is a 24-hour Operation Centre, where we receive information from members of the general public in and around the state. We don’t divulge identities of callers. Once we receive information, the information is processed and sent to the nearest military or police formation, alerting them that there is a problem. I can’t count the number of bandits’ attacks or other forms of attacks that we responded to, or averted as a result of the security operations. We have personnel that are working 24/7.They are on the ground. So, there are many things that the state government is doing. Even the media unit of the governor’s office is also complementing what we are doing by doubling the message of recourse to the law, doing a lot of public awareness, giving a lot of publicity to security activities. So, all these things enhance peace building. We are on course and will continue to do our best.
Can you reveal the numbers of this Security Operation Centre, so that people can reach out to them when they notice possible triggers of crisis, or to place a Save Our Soul call when the need arises?
Yes, I will give you the numbers, we’ve been publicizing them. The number is 09034000060. There’s also 08170189999.
You have reeled out some impressive methods and tactics that the government has taken to address the insecurity in southern Kaduna. But in spite of all these efforts, why hasn’t the security situation significantly improved?
Well, I wouldn’t want to say that we’ve gotten to the promised land, but going by what is happening in the state, if you compare it to what is happening in neighboring states, you will agree with me that we are witnessing significant and gradual improvement. But we are still having setbacks here and there. And you know, the media attach more hype to negativity. I am not saying that we have overcome all the challenges, but I want to assure you that we are making progress.
Look at Kaduna-Abuja road for instance. On that road, we now have personnel of Operation Thunder Strike. It is a Defense Headquarters response to security challenges along the Kaduna-Abuja road. You have the Army, the Air Force, the Police, the Civil Defense, the DSS, they’re all part of it. You also look at Operation Puff Adder, which is the Inspector General of Police’s response to the problem. There is also the Intelligence Response Team of the police, which is a technical operation that does a lot of tracking and underground investigation. So, when you look at the Kaduna-Abuja road, if people would be fair, they will agree with me that we’ve made significant achievements, even though we still have challenges here and there. Contrary to what people are saying, you can travel from Kaduna to Abuja by road without apprehension. The same with the Kaduna-Bwari road. We have a detachment of troops and police who are working around that axis. So, the fact that we have one challenge or the other doesn’t mean that it has overwhelmed the successes that we have achieved. We are making progress.
Go and look at the security situation of neighboring states, look at the cases of the kidnappings and killings, the level of criminality and robbery and what have you, sincerely we are making progress. Though we are not yet there, like I said, I’m not denying the fact that we have challenges. We have security challenges, but when you look at the political will that the governor is demonstrating, when you look at the way we work as a team with security agencies, you will agree with me that we are doing our best. What we have achieved is far from the distortion or politicization of the security situation that is being portrayed in the media.
You have spoken at length about what the government has done, in terms of the heavy deployments to southern Kaduna. And you talked about what the Defense Headquarters and state government is doing along Kaduna-Abuja road. What is being done on the Birnin Gwari axis which is another flashpoint?
In spite of COVID-19 and the renewed violence in southern Kaduna, the government has not taken its eyes off the Birnin-Gwari flashpoint up to Giwa, and Igabi and part of Chikun local government areas. As we speak, I cannot count the number of air interdictions that the Nigerian Air force has carried out successfully, hitting at bandits, neutralizing many of them and destroying their camps in Igabi, Giwa, Birnin Gwari and Chikun local government. We are doing a lot there. But then, like you know, what the media is focusing on is different from the reality of what is happening. Operation Whirl Punch is working in the Birnin Gwari general area. We have the Nigerian Army super camp in Kuyello. There is a detachment of Nigerian Air Force in Birnin-Gwari and recently more structures were added to the existing structures on ground in Igabi, around Dumbi to Sabon Birni. We have deployment of troops up to Kidenden up to Galadimawa, carrying out fighting patrols. And I cannot count the number of bandits that the military and the police have neutralized and also the number of bandits that have been killed during air operations. There are various military operations going on in that axis, like Operation Bada Mamaki of Nigerian Air Force, Operation Nazo and Operation Sahel Sanity.
We were in Faskari town in Katsina state last week with the governor of Kaduna state, His Excellency, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, where we met with the Chief of Army Staff. We toured the camp and if you’re following the successes that the military is achieving as a result of these operations, they deserve commendation. The insecurity that we are now dealing with is not today’s creation; it is an accumulation of security triggers that brought us to where we are and we are making progress. So, we are doing a lot to bring peace and calm in the entire state. Apart from all these interventions in southern Kaduna, Birnin Gwari, Giwa and Chikun, Kaduna metropolis is also is in our sight. You will agree with me that there’s a reduction of armed robbery cases in Kaduna town, even though we have to be reserved in celebrating strides in security, in order not to undermine or compromise ongoing operations. But I want to tell you that, we are making progress. This point can be understood when you look at the number of bandits that have been neutralized and number of camps that were destroyed. The Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Air force have been coming out with figures, they have been coming out with images of breakthroughs as a result of their operations.
So far, how many culprits have been apprehended in the southern Kaduna axis for example?
Well, as we speak, about eight culprits have been arrested in the southern Kaduna general area. About six were arrested in Mariri area of Lere local government and two again in Kauru local government.
Last Thursday, the Primate of the Anglican Church of Nigeria, Reverend Henry Ndukuba, paid a courtesy call on Governor Nasir El-Rufai and he spoke about the insecurity in southern Kaduna. Four days later, the President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Reverend Samson Ayokunle also came visiting and spoke on the same issue. Is the crisis in Sothern Kaduna a religious one?
Well, there are so many issues. First and foremost, the Primate of the Anglican Church was here, the national President of CAN was also here, where we met them in company of security agencies. There were detailed submissions, with a detailed presentation so that they will have a view of what is really happening in not only in the southern part of the state, but in the entire state. From what research and investigations have shown so far, there are many factors that are responsible for the lingering crisis in southern Kaduna general area, but as a government, what is important for us is ‘‘how do we get to the root of the matter?’‘ ‘’How do we bring this to an end?’’ And we have demonstrated the political will, that we really want to bring this lingering crisis to an end. And we need support of the good people of Kaduna state to achieve this.
KAD Facts
-On May 30, 2015, Governor Nasir El-Rufai convened an emergency security meeting over killings in Sanga local government, a day after he was sworn in;
-The General Martin Luther Agwai committee was thus set up to study and proffer solutions to the killings in Southern Kaduna;
-The security meeting also resolved to prepare a White Paper on the Peace and Reconciliation Committee that was established by the Sir Patrick Yakowa administration;
-The government also took action against ‘Sara-suka’ gangs terrorizing major towns, cattle rustling and rural banditry;
-In collaboration with other North Western states and Niger state, El-Rufai and his colleagues funded military action against bandits in Kuyambana forest;
-In 2016, Kaduna and Plateau states as well as the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue collaborated to build a constituency of peace;
-The government supported the Kafanchan Peace Declaration, a community-led effort to sustain peace;
-The Peace Apology billboard was unveiled in Samarun-Kataf, when the staff of office was presented to the new Agwatyap, His Highness, Dominic Gambo Yahaya in 2016, for mutual forgiveness;
-The government facilitated the establishment of an army base in Kafanchan in 2017;
-KDSG bought an estate to accommodate a mobile police squadron in the area;
-The federal government also extended the mandate of Plateau state-based Operation Safe Haven to southern Kaduna;
-In September 2017, the El-Rufai administration established the Kaduna State Peace Commission, chaired by Most High, Reverend Josiah Idowu-Fearon, former Anglican Archbishop of Kaduna and current Secretary General of Anglican Communion;
-Since 2015, the government has expanded the State Security Council, by including the Emir of Birnin Gwari, Alhaji Zubairu Jibril Maigwari II and the Chief of Kagoma, Kpop Gwong II, Mr Paul Zakka Wyom.
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