The heinous activities of bloodthirsty and marauding bandits are taking a new toll on some communities in Giwa LGA, Kaduna State, despite new strategies by the military aimed at mopping them up.
The remnants of these bandits are still lurking in some rural communities unleashing mayhem to the helpless and hopeless villagers.
A joint military and police operation carried out on November 18, 2022 foiled a kidnap attempt along Funtua-Zaria road and led to the rescue of over 70 people.
In addition to that, on November 17, 2022 the Kaduna State Police Command, acting on intelligence report that some armed bandits were sighted on motorcycles along Galadimawa-Tumburku road in Giwa LGA, deployed its personnel and after an ensued engagement between the bandits and the police, one bandit was apprehended and five of their operational motorcycles were recovered.
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The untiring efforts of the military and police in checkmating the criminal activities of bandits are glaring as they bring back sanity to some communities.
However, much still needs to be done in order to rescue other communities from the clutches of armed bandits.
Some news reports coming out from other communities are disturbing because they indicate that the residents live at the mercy of the heartless bandits. The horrendous killing of 11 community members and the abduction of 24 others in Sarkin Rafi in Giwa Local Government Area last Friday is a major setback in the security’s ongoing war with bandits.
I was enraged by the news that about N10 million ransom was paid to the bandits to secure the release of my cousin who was kidnapped alongside her husband and seven other couples of just a few months in one of the communities in Giwa LGA.
They regained their freedom after spending over 40 days in the kidnappers’ dens.
The unreported and underreported incidents like the above-mentioned are going on without interruption in some communities at the detriment of the poor villagers who are always at the receiving end.
It’s on this note that, while we appreciate the efforts of security personnel for deploying resources to combat the menace of armed bandits, we equally call on them to re-strategise and deal with them ruthlessly.
The life of any Nigerian matters and as such people should be allowed to pursue their legitimate goals and ambitions in a peaceful setting as enshrined in the constitution without fear of being attacked by the miscreants.
Safiyanu Ladan wrote from Zaria through [email protected]
