Kaduna needs more attention from the authorities
Last Sunday, 28 students kidnapped by armed gunman from Bethel Baptist School on the outskirts of Kaduna were reunited with their families. But the joy of parents and relatives was suppressed because 87 other students, abducted since July 5, are still in captivity. Schools in many of the northern states have become regular targets for kidnappings by armed groups seeking ransom. The abduction at Bethel Baptist was the fourth mass kidnapping in an educational institution within the state in the past five months.
While presenting the state security incidents report for the second quarter of 2021, Governor Nasir El-Rufai had expressed concern over the escalating insecurity in Kaduna State. “The data on security incidents in the state during the second quarter of 2021 reflects the real agony of our citizens and communities, their pains and losses, and the fears and anxiety that have created considerable distress,” he said. In the first three months of this year, some 323 people were killed while 949 persons were kidnapped by bandits in the state. The second quarter security report presented by the government last week, covering April to June 2021, showed a slight decline in violence as some 222 persons were killed and 774 people kidnapped by bandits. But recent weeks have been characterised by mass abduction of school children, an action that triggered the closure of schools in rural communities by the state government. There are also reports that the bandits now collect levies from farmers in many of the communities before they could cultivate their fields.