Scary statistics

Hardball

Figures published last week by the Kaduna State Government lent credence to fears that a ruinous subterranean war is being waged by bandits and other criminals on the Northwest state. It was made known that no fewer than 222 persons were killed between April and June, this year, in the blight of insecurity that bedevils the state. Some 774 persons more were kidnapped in the same quarter, according to official figures published by the state’s Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs Samuel Aruwan. We should place on record that in reality, the valid figures of victims may be far higher considering it is notorious that official figures tend to understate negative casualties.

The new security report implied that at least 545 people were killed and 1,723 kidnapped between January and June 2021 in that state alone. Aruwan had earlier on, this year, reported that 323 people were killed and 949 kidnapped between January and March. The report for the second quarter presented on Tuesday, 13th July, said the figures were of victims of banditry attacks, communal clashes and reprisals that took place across the troubled state, with a total of 266 persons more injured. Aruwan also reported that at least 20 people were raped in the three months under review, stating that council areas of Kaduna most affected by the wave of violence include Birnin Gwari, Chikun, Kajuru, Giwa and Igabi. Lamenting the impact of the violence on state residents, he said local economy in frontline areas was near-collapse, as the activities of bandits had “dispossessed residents of their foremost means of sustenance and disrupted the operation of the usually dynamic weekly markets. Besides the rustling of cattle, the targeting of farmers by armed bandits has generally eroded the economic viability of rural communities, in addition to precipitating a food crisis.”

Receiving the security report, Governor Nasir el-Rufai regretted that government efforts had not sufficed to safeguard lives and property. He said his administration had made considerable investments on security, but there was need for structural changes in the entire architecture to make the desired impact. The Kaduna governor urged the Federal Government to bolster the state’s efforts and, if necessary, deploy unconventional means to better protect communities.

El-Rufai’s administration stands apart in proactively reporting on the trend of insecurity in its jurisdiction, namely Kaduna, but the reported figures reflect what goes on in other states as well. Insecurity has made life nasty, brutish and short in many areas, and there is sense to the recommendation by the Kaduna governor that the Federal Government launch simultaneous security operations across all seven states of the Northwest zone and Niger State where insecurity is most pronounced. Nigeria is at war with bandits and citizens are falling casualty. People now almost routinely pay ransom for kidnapped relations, while others less lucky lose lives to exploits by the criminals. Government must rise to its constitutional obligation of protecting lives, whatever it takes to do that.