Visit communities ravaged by banditry, Kaduna residents tell Buhari

Residents of communities in Kaduna State ravaged by banditry have extended an invitation to President Muhammadu Buhari to visit their communities and see their present living conditions.

The president is billed to visit Kaduna State on Thursday.

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Daily Trust reports that hinterlands of Birnin Gwari, Chikun, Igabi and Giwa local government areas of Kaduna State have been overrun by bandits who were recently declared terrorists.

Several residents have abandoned their communities for fear of being killed or abducted and are taking refuge in major towns which are fortified by security presence.

A widowed mother of six, Saratu Iliyasu, who has fled Marke II in Giwa LGA and is now taking refuge in Zaria, appealed to the president to take up the opportunity to understand the security situation in the villages first hand.

“This is an opportunity for him to see things for himself.

“He doesn’t have to rely on what the security reports are saying or what the soldier are telling him, he needs to see things for himself,” she said.

Speaking with Daily Trust, a community leader in Fatika district of Giwa LGA said the president owes them a visit as people in the state had voted massively for him in 2015 and 2019.

“We want him to come and see the situation of his people, if at all we are his people and I assure you he will shed tears.

“When Governor Nasir El-Rufai visited us in December after an attack, he couldn’t help it but to shed tears when he saw our condition,” he said.

Ibrahim Hamza from Rema village in Birnin Gwari LGA said the president needs to visit Birnin Gwari specifically, claiming that the local government area had become one of the deadliest places to live in northern Nigeria.

“He needs to have a feel of what it means to live in one of the most volatile areas in this part of the country.

“He needs to visit the various communities that have been sacked and now abandoned,” he said.

President Buhari is expected to commission projects in Kaduna, Kafanchan and Zaria during his two days working visit.

Among such projects are the Sabon Gari Modern Market, the remodelled Murtala Muhammed Square, the Umaru Musa Yar’adua road to the Eastern bypass, the Kawo bridge and Aliyu Makama road to Barnawa among others.