Nasarawa State boasts more security formations that most states in the north. But in recent times, the state has recorded more security breaches than many others around it, LINUS OOTA reports.
Nnasararwa, the new investment hub of northern Nigeria has attracted several investors in recent times courtesy of the efforts of the state governor, Abdullahi Sule. The state holds a unique advantage of hosting many security formations including the police mobile training school in Ende Hills and the 123 Special Forces Battalion of the Nigerian Army in Doma Local Government Area of the state, among others.
Lately, the Sule administration has attracted the Dangote Sugar Refinery, Olarm Rice Farm and a flour mills and embarked on eight significant business environment reforms which have attracted over $500 million in both domestic and foreign investment into key sectors of the state economy.
Unfortunately, the state is virtually turning into an epicenter of banditory, kidnapping and terrorist attacks in recent times; a trend which if not properly tackled could scare investors.
The recent abduction of the executive chairman of Akwanga Local Government Area, Hon Safiyanu Isa Andaha within the local government has left many residents of the state bewildered and left no one in doubt as to the escalating cases of insecurity in the state.
A day hardly passes without news of one kidnapped person or the other or attempted kidnapping in one part of the state or the other. With the media frequently awash with such stories, the phenomenon has assumed such a frightening dimension that some residents are even contemplating some means of securing themselves independent of the state.
Between 2022 and 2023, the state’s Commissioner for Information, Culture and Touris, Hon Yakubu Lawal, was kidnapped in his home in Nasarawa Eggon; the Executive Chairman of Keffi Local Government Area, Hon Baba Shehu was also a victim of kidnapping; a permanent secretary in Government House, Mr Jibrin Giza, was kidnapped as well as a member of the National Assembly Service Commission, Muazu Ishaq. Large sums of money were allegedly paid for their release.
In the new year, the state has been in the news again for the wrong reasons. On new year day, for instance, the Executive Chairman of Akwanga Local Government Area of the state, Hon Safiyanu Isa Andaha, and his political godfather, Alhaji Adamu Umar Custom, were kidnapped around Ningo village in Akwanga. They were released only after they had spent a whole day in the bush with their abductors to whom the sum of N10m was allegedly paid as ramson as against the N50m they initially demanded.
The victims were freed by their abductors behind an obsolete filling station on Bayan Dutse Road on the outskirts of Andaha town. The chairman allegedly claimed that the kidnappers were “small small Fulani boys” turning them around the bush.
On Tuesday (January 2), four people were gunned down by armed robbers at a supermarket in a village in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State; a neighborhood town to Nyanya in Abuja FCT.
A witness told our correspondent that the attackers were terrorists who did not come to rob the supermarket or hurt its operators but to kill anybody who visited the supermarket at that particular time to buy some items.
The bloodletting terrorists stormed Wisdom Supermarket, located by the roadside in One Man village by the Abuja-Keffi Expressway, killing four customers. The incident, which occurred between 8:30pm and 9pm, was said to have taken security operators and local security men engaged by the supermarket as well as other neighboring shops unaware.
Up until the time of filing this report, the atmosphere at the area was tense as a lot of people were leaving in fear while most shops along the area did not open for fear of further attacks.
A resident within the area, Mr Abubakar Modi, who spoke with our correspondent, said he had just left the supermarket after buying some items and was about to board a keke (commercial tricycle) when he heard gunshots within the supermarket.
Modi said: “I couldn’t believe what I saw. My heart is still beating till now. The whole thing happened like a dream. They were actually terrorists. They were not coming to rob the supermarket; they were just coming to waste people’s lives.
“I leave in One Man Village, and in the past one year, we have been experiencing security challenges from one house to another or one shop to another. But this particular attack was one too shocking as nobody expected it.
“They took everyone by surprise, because it happenned while people were still moving around.”
Another witness, who identified himself simply as Mr Ibrahim, said he was standing opposite the shops and saw the whole operation. “They came in a vehicle, but they covered their faces heavily.
“Armed with guns, they walked into the supermarket and asked everybody to lie flat on the floor. They then shot at the four customers in the shop”.
The Police Public Relations Officer of the state command, DSP Ranham Nansel, who confirmed the incident, said that investigation was ongoing.
According to him, “on receiving the information, the Commissioner of Police, Umar Nadada, deployed the Divisional Police Officer of the New Karu division, which is close to the scene. Upon arrival, they discovered that four people were shot. They evacuated them to the hospital where the doctor confirmed them dead and they were deposited at the mortuary for autopsy.
“The Commissioner of Police in turn deployed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the state criminal investigation department to the scene to carry out a comprehensive investigation.”
Speaking generally on the fear among the residents of the state, a retired permanent secretary, Amos Abu, said the current security situation in the state will portray the state in bad light.
“The governor is doing and has done a lot to attract investment to the state, which is his major achievement. But if the state is experiencing bad signals in terms of security, the investors might fold up.
“If you go to Lafia town now, especially along the polytechnic and Bukan Sidi area, people hardly sleep with their two eyes closed; it is one robbery incident after another. The criminals break into people’s houses to collect their handsets, money and other important belongings. They machete innocent citizens at will without any just reason.
“The rate of kidnapping in the state now is alarming. If a whole chief security officer of a local government is successfully kidnapped, then nobody is safe. If terrorists can go into a supermarket and kill innocent customers without hindrance and go scot free, them there is a big problem,
“Our major fear is that the plateau scenario might snowball into Nasarawa. Security of lives and property is no longer guaranteed. Nobody is safe and this development might scare investors from coming into Nasarawa State for development.
“The Governor has done enough interns of investment and infrastructural development, but once the security of lives and property is not guaranteed, those achievements cannot benefit the masses.”
A market women association leader, Mrs Amina Thomas, said “the continuous security breaches signify the failure of governance in all ramifications. Once government fails to protect the lives of its citizens, it means something is wrong.”
She explained further that Governor Sule has done a lot in terms of security, but the recurrence of these security breaches clearly show that peace has eluded the state. It is either farmers/herders crisis or kidnapping by bandits and now terrorists killing people at will. The bizzare is going on despite Governor Abdullahi Sule’s efforts.
“Governor Sule has deployed military, police and other security agencies across the state. He provided them with all the support needed and their presence should ordinarily scare the criminals. But that is not the case.
“I am shocked that four innocent people can be wiped away in a minute by terrorists. We are all leaving in fear of the unknown,” she said.
While kidnappings and killings are not peculiar to Nasarawa State, the situation in the state is assuming some form of notoriety with security agencies seemingly helpless.
It was gathered that Governor Abdullahi Sule has done his best to secure the state against all forms of criminality, and his determination in this direction is not in doubt. The encouragement and support security agencies are getting from the state government have been remarkable, but the level of criminality in the state is increasing rather than decreasing.
Through the efforts of Governor Sule, Nasarawa State was able to secure high level security formations all aimed at curbing insecurity in the state. Some of the security formations include Mobile Training Barracks at Ende Hill in Nasarawa Eggon, Special Forces Army Barracks at Doma, Airforce Special Wing in Lafia, and new Mobile Police (MOPOL) unit in Agyaragu.
Others are the military task force unit at Toto, the MOPOL Special unit at Umaisha, the MOPOL unit at Akwanga and the Army base in Keffi.
But in spite of the presence of these security formations and the support from the state government, there is little to cheer. Admittedly,the military task force at Toto has recorded some successes in dislodging criminals along that axis. But observers believe that more needs to be done to achieve relative security across the state.
A security expert, Mr Jerome Adams, said “the searchlight must at this juncture be focused on re-evaluating the operations of these security formations and other security apparatus in the state, else the state will lose the investors currently developing the state courtesy of Governor Sule.
“It beats my imagination that despite all the governor has done, there are still security breaches in Nasarawa State, culminating in kidnaping for ransom and killing of innocent citizens in a supermarket.
“Based on what is happening now, I suggest a total review of the security situation in the state. The governor needs to wake up and double his efforts to secure the state and the investment.
Governor Abdullahi Sule had in early November 2023, during an expanded security meeting over cases of insecurity in the state, revealed that Keffi and Karu local government areas, have continued to experience the influx of strange faces, suspected to be gangs of terrorists.
The expanded meeting, which was aimed at addressing security concerns, had head of security outfits, traditional rulers, heads of tertiary institutions in the state and chairmen of affected local governments in attendance.
Aside from fostering collaborative efforts for the safety of lives and property, the meeting shared insights and proposed innovative strategies to combat security challenges in the state.
Governor Sule said government was going to mobilise resources and to assemble experts as a measure for comprehensive and inclusive approach to tackling security challenges in the state, hence the expanded meeting with key stakeholders.
The governor said part of the reasons for convening the expanded security meeting was to deliberate on the unfolding regular attacks on farmers by suspected herders, with such attacks recorded in six local government areas, namely Nasarawa, Doma, Akwanga, Keana Obi and Awe.
He raised the alarm over the influx of strange faces, which is already generating tension particularly around Keffi Local Government Area.
“There is also, from what we have been able to gather, some level of influx of certain strangers that generate tension, especially around Keffi local government area
“And we also had the opportunity to discover some criminal hideouts at riverside in Karu local government area. We are also able to have information on the lodging of some suspected drug peddlers in certain hotels, as well as what they call sleeper cell in Nasarawa, Taraba, Kaduna, created by terrorist gangs,” Governor Sule said.
The governor, however, expressed willingness to fall back on the working relationship with traditional rulers towards ensuring security at the grassroots.
“Part of the reasons for this meeting is to appeal to traditional rulers to resume the engagement of the local vigilante groups like they did in the past, which has yielded positive results.
“We have relaxed on that, mostly on the part of government. We are going back to engage all those security groups to work with our people and security operatives,” he said
He commended security agencies operating in the state for maintaining peace, law and order during this difficult period, and the efforts put in place towards the rescue operations of several kidnapped victims in the state.
