Rigasa at the mercy of bandits

By Lawal Adamu Usman

SIR: The people of Rigasa community, in Igabi Local Government of Kaduna State are living in palpable fear with their eyes always open due to the frequent attacks by armed kidnappers. Don’t forget that Rigasa community is home to the train station. The killing of youth leader last two weeks, coupled with the abduction of another youth who was gruesomely murdered after ransom was paid is very frightening and disturbing.

Is Rigasa community becoming the darling of these dreaded kidnappers because of the absence of security personnel who are supposed to policing the area?

Is Rigasa descending to another hotspot of kidnapping? I think the answers are “YES”.

The notorious kidnappers usually storm the community at their pleasure, wielding and brandishing dangerous weapons to attack people. They shoot sporadically, scare law-abiding citizens after which they kidnap their victims.

The nefarious activities of bandits or kidnappers are not only prevalent and violent in Rigasa but also in Birni-Gwari and Giwa communities. These bandits are gradually carving out territory with many villagers being forced to desert their ancestral homes due to the fears of unknown. They continuing killing of defenceless people in Rigasa, a suburb of Kaduna, indicates that nobody is safe in the country, to borrow the word of His Eminence, Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto. Rigasa, the once lively and burstling community is today at the mercy of bandits. The reign of terror visited on the peaceful community by rampaging kidnappers has forced many business people to close and run for their dear lives. The few ones who surmount courage to stay and operate their lawful business are living in apprehension. Many people think that with the train station located in Rigasa, adequate security would be deployed or beefed up to forestall any attacks. However, we are all wrong. The security laxity in the train station attracted these kidnappers who abduct the passengers upon their return from journey with relatively ease.

With Rigasa community becoming another theatre of kidnapping, there is the need for government to deploy adequate security personnel to comb up the community. The kidnappers are likely to extend their operation to other neighbouring communities unless their dangerous activities are nipped into the bud. The Kaduna State government should quickly come to the aid of Rigasa by actively engaging unemployed youths into the vigilante group who will work together with other security outfits to protect the community. The number of security personnel around the area are not enough. There is the need for government to deploy more troops to secure the community. Rigasa is profusely bleeding and need timely response to save the lives of frustrated people.

• Lawal Adamu Usman, Kaduna.