Amid the high rate of banditry in Kaduna State, residents of Rigasa community in Igabi Council, yesterday, stormed the House of Assembly in protest against kidnapping and armed robbery in their communities.The placard-wielding protesters urged the lawmakers to intervene and save them from the bandits.‘End Kidnapping in Rigasa and Environs’, ‘Stop Kidnapping in Rigasa Community’ and ‘Change Rigasa Policemen’ were among the inscriptions on the placards. The protesters arrived the Assembly around 11a.m., shortly after the presentation of the 2020 budget by the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan.
The commissioner was reportedly in the premises of the legislature when the protesters led by one Sani Sunusi arrived, but they were stopped from entering the main gate of the Assembly. Lamenting the community’s ordeal in the hands of armed bandits, one of the protesters, Isma’il Ahmad, said about 50 people, including a pregnant woman, from Rigasa community were in the custody of kidnappers.He urged the lawmakers to do everything possible to end kidnapping and other crimes in the area.
Meanwhile, military operations in Taraba State have begun to impact positively on the residents, especially those in the southern part of the state, The Guardian has observed. Yesterday, the people were seen in celebration mood, as the various roads earlier closed by hoodlums, following the recent upheaval between the Tiv and Jukun, were re-opened by the soldiers who seemed determined to clamp down on unrepentant hoodlums.
Some residents told our correspondent that the re-opening of the roads, including Takum to Wukari, Takum to Katsina-Ala, Donga to Wukari among others, had not only brought relief to the people but would as well enhance economics and agricultural activities. As the military operation tagged Ayem Akpatuma (Cat Race) finally commenced in the state, the residents, who could not hide their excitement, said the decision of the army to re-open the roads was the best thing the army had done so far for them.The Acting Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Major Ikechukwu Eze, stated that the exercise was being conducted by Headquarters 3 Division, Headquarters Command Army Records, Headquarters Guards Brigade and 707 Special Forces Brigade.He added that it would run simultaneously from November 1 to December 23, 2019 in Taraba, Kogi, Nasarawa and Benue states, just as he asked the people not to panic, as “the exercise is aimed at building the capacity of the Nigerian Army personnel through practical exposure to sharpen skills in combating internal security threats across the North Central region.”
Also elated by the development, Governor Darius Ishaku, through his deputy, Haruna Manu, maintained that the strength of any nation was in the ability of its military to protect its territorial integrity and support internal security.
