The Kaduna State government has stressed the need to separate criminality from religion or ethnicity, saying the two are not linked and urged residents to come together to confront any form of criminal activities.
The Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, who said this at a two-day stakeholders meeting on farmer-herder relations and banditry in the state said it was important for farmers and herders to take recourse to the law as it will make resolution easy instead of escalating the security situation.
Aruwan called on non-state actors to refrain from making inflammatory comments that would undermine the wellbeing and togetherness of communities.
The Permanent Commissioner, Kaduna State Peace Commission, Khadijah Hawaja Gambo, blamed Nigerian elite for creating the concept of indigene/settler dichotomy among people who have coexisted peacefully for centuries. She urged the people of Kaduna to come together and embrace peace, saying the issues in the state could be resolved amicably.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Director, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Idayat Hassan, said there is no timeline for peace and harped on the need to adopt the approach of enquiry.
