Bandits Have Taken Over Kaduna, Killed 24 persons within 24 hours After Governor El-Rufai advised Gumi not to waste time negotiating with bandits.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that bandits have killed 23 persons across five local government areas in Kaduna state within the last 24 hours.
This online news platform understands that this is coming hours after Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai disagreed with prominent Islamic scholar, Sheikh Gumi, that the federal government should dialogue with bandits, instead of waging war against them.
After meeting with the bandits in the forest in Zamfara State, Sheikh Gumi had asked the federal government to use security budget to address the bandits’ demands, claiming that most of them had lost all their possessions to cattle rustling and extortion.
But Governor el-Rufai in an interview with BBC Hausa, said the bandits should not be forgiven for taking arms against the country, stressing that they should also not be compensated.
He reiterated the fact that Kaduna was at war with the criminal elements, pointing out that ” my administration is at war with the bandits and so we cannot negotiate. Eliminating them is the only solution to banditry.”
Noting that the bandits would not be willing to give up kidnapping, considering the huge amounts demanded as ransom, the governor said: “Anybody that thinks a Fulani man that ventured into kidnapping for ransom, and he is earning millions of naira, would go back to his former life of getting N100,000 after selling a cow in a year, must be deceiving himself.
“Why should they be compensated after killing people, destroying their houses. Who offended them? Ahmad Gumi is my friend and this is what we discussed with him.
“I told him that majority of these Fulani bandits don’t believe in religion. Therefore, I don’t believe in what he (Gumi) is doing that they should be forgiven and compensated.”
El-Rufai added that the lack of unity among governors of the north-western states was also hindering the fight against banditry.
“As a result, every state is fighting in its own way. If we cannot come together for the federal government to provide us with soldiers and police to enter the bush and kill all the bandits, it will be difficult to succeed in the fight against banditry.
“There is no synergy among the governors in the north-west on how to end the banditry. But Kaduna is collaborating with Niger State on modalities to end the killings by the gunmen.
“State like Zamfara adopted a policy of dialogue with the gunmen, giving them amnesty, which I don’t believe in. With this, we have differences on how to tackle the situation.
“We sat together with the governors in Katsina, but we disagreed on how to tackle the criminality. Some believed on dialogue, while others didn’t.”
Few hours after the Governors disagreement, attacks took place on soft targets in Birnin Gwari, Giwa, Chikun, Igabi and Kauru local government areas.
In Birnin Gwari LGA, 10 citizens were killed by bandits in an attack on Ungwan Gajere, Kutemeshi ward.
The victims were identified as:
Abdu Hasan
Sufyanu Musa
Faisal Zubairu
Abdullahi Hasan
Ali Abdu
Rabiu Aliyu
Zubairu Yau
Bukar Yusuf
Mamman Ibrahim
Dankande Musa
The following were injured in the attack:
Baushi Alu
Rabe Sani
Usama Sani
In Igabi local government area, bandits shot dead one Dayyabu Yahuza between Sarkin Baka and Dankyawai village, near Gidan Kurmi.
In Giwa local government area, armed bandits invaded Janbaba village, one Yakubu Sule was shot dead.
In Kishisho village, Kauru local government area, gunmen suspected to be from a neighboring state killed five persons, listed as:
Danlami Sunday
Abbas Abou
Sati Yakubu
Shaba John
John Francis
In Chikun local government area, five citizens were killed by bandits in Gwagwada-Kasaya village in Kunai ward.
They are:
Habila Ibrahim
Samaila Audu
John Musa
Birnin Aboki
Ali Aboki
Similarly, in Agwa, Chikun LGA, one Bitrus Joseph was shot dead in an attack by bandits.
Also in Chikun local government area, one bandit was killed near Bugai, when members of the community repelled an attack.
However, Governor Nasir El-Rufai has expressed sadness over the attacks.
The Governor sent his condolences to the families that lost their loved ones. He offered prayers for the repose of the souls of the slain, and a speedy recovery for the injured.
As of the time of this security update, the air platforms of the Nigerian Air Force are trailing and engaging bandits in some locations in Chikun, Birnin Gwari, Giwa and Igabi LGAs, and citizens will be briefed upon the receipt of operational feedback.
Governor El-Rufai, however, wished the military success in the ongoing operation as he awaits reports.
