The Kaduna State Government said about 323 people were killed by bandits in the state between January and March 2021.
This was disclosed in a security report presented by the State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, at the State Security Council meeting.
Governor Nasir el-Rufai presided over the meeting held on Friday at the Government House in Kaduna, the state capital.
Presenting the first quarter security report to the council, Aruwan explained that of the 323 people killed by bandits during the period under review, 292 were males and 20 were females.
He said that a total of 949 people were kidnapped by bandits during the period, while Kaduna Central senatorial district accounted for 236 deaths within Birnin Gwari, Chikun, Igabi, and Kajuru Local Government Areas.
Aruwan also informed the council that some successes were recorded on the part of the security forces, including the killing of hundreds of bandits and recovery of many weapons.
In his opening remark, Governor el-Rufai decried the spate of kidnapping and banditry in Kaduna which he said was taking an alarming proportion.
He expressed worries that the situation was already getting out of hands and called for urgent measures to stem the tide of insecurity in the state.
Some heads of security agencies in Kaduna attended the Security Council meeting at the Government House on April 30, 2021.
The governor also raised the alarm that the bandits operating in the state were inching closer from rural communities to the cities, where they haf attacked innocent citizens in recent times with utmost boldness.
According to him, there is a need to allay the sense of fear and lack of confidence in security agencies through prompt operations to restore security in Kaduna.
The Commissioner of Police in Kaduna, Umar Muri, and Commandant of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Uche Iyke, also briefed the council.
Both men stressed the need to secure schools from further attacks and tackle the menace of drug addiction and trafficking which were identified as factors contributing to banditry.
The meeting afforded members the opportunity to review the security situation in the state and make inputs that would help in reviewing the government’s operational strategies.
Those in attendance were heads of various security agencies in the states, the commissioners of education and local governments, as well as traditional rulers, among others.
Kaduna, like other states in the country, is still grappling with the challenges of banditry and kidnapping which have claimed many lives with socioeconomic activities threatened.
A recent wave of deadly attacks in some parts of the state has created tension and anxiety among the citizens and even the government.
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