Governor Nasir El -Rufai lamented that despite the state’s considerable investments in security, banditry and other forms of security challenges are still escalating.
He said Kaduna’s “considerable investments in security are yet to manifest in the defeat or at least the considerable degradation of the criminals that menace our people. We have consistently supported the federal security agencies deployed to our state with logistics and equipment.
“Apart from these recurrent expenses, the Kaduna State Government has undertaken capital expenditure to provide facilities that can multiply the capacity of security agencies to deter crime and conduct effective investigations of those that do occur.”
The governor pointed out that the government “created the Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs to provide a specialised institution to coordinate these investments and our liaison with the federal security agencies.”
He noted that the Kaduna Central Senatorial District remains the most impacted by insecurity, going by the Security Incidents Reports.
The governor who made the observation after the Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs Samuel Aruwan presented the Security Incidents Report for the second quarter of 2021, said the security incidents occurred all over the state from April to June 2021.
El- Rufai lamented that “it is clear to us that these considerable investments require structural changes in the security sector for their effectiveness.’’
He argued that “citizens who have been affected by crime and insecurity are not interested in the distinctions between the federal and state governments in terms of their powers over security.
“As a state government, we have also seen at close quarters how the federal security agencies are limited by manpower deficits. There are simply not enough boots on the ground to have credible deployments in most places to protect communities, deter crime and enforce law and order,’’ he reiterated.
The governor argued that ‘’ the state government must be empowered and supported by the federal government to make up the manpower deficit in the security sector. ‘’
He said “an unconventional approach is required to enable us to better protect our communities and we are engaging with the federal government and the leadership of the security agencies on this. We are pursuing this initiative, even as we nudge the Federal Government to launch simultaneous operations across all the seven states of the Northwest and Niger State.’’
“The Kaduna State Peace Commission has launched its Conflict Early Warning and Early Response System (CEWERS) while the House of Kaduna Family continues its active engagements,’’ he added.
