Learning institutions and healthcare facilities in Kaduna State have come under ceaseless attacks from bandits and kidnappers in recent weeks. Many students were abducted from Greenfield University at Kasarami, 30 kilometres from Kaduna along the Abuja-Kaduna highway. Armed men invaded the school premises around 8:30 pm on Tuesday, April 20, killed a staff member and abducted an unspecified number of students.
This occurred 40 days after 39 students of Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, also in Kaduna State, were kidnapped on March 11. Barely 24 hours after the Greenfield incident, armed bandits attacked General Hospital, Idon in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State and abducted two nurses.
Kidnappers of the Greenfield students later contacted some parents and demanded for N800 million as ransom. Three of the abducted students, two females and a male, were later found to have been murdered by their abductors. Kaduna State Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, said their remains were found at Kwanar Bature village, near the school.
Porous vicinity around Greenfield University and absence of security personnel at Idon General Hospital were obvious factors, but the bandits may also be taunting Kaduna State Governor Nasiru el-Rufa’i, who has publicly adopted a stern posture of non-negotiation with kidnappers. El–Rufa’i said even if his son was abducted, he would not pay ransom. He also said the unanimous position of all the governors is to wipe out the bandits.
Already, National Coordinator of Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria [HURIWA] Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko has faulted the governor, saying, “The governor compounded the problem of commoners who are at the receiving end …. by continuously making all kinds of incendiary statements and reckless media pronouncements about the kidnappers.”
We agree with HURIWA that the governor should tone down his rhetoric in sensitive security matters. The bandits are already hard-hearted and merciless; provocative statements by the governor could only worsen matters. To avert further attacks on soft targets particularly in Kaduna State, Governor El-Rufa’i should choose his words carefully while commenting on attacks. We also advise the governor to explore other strategic options that will end kidnappings and attacks on residents of Kaduna State. Such a reconsideration is not cowardice. It is wisdom.
