The violence and killings in Southern Kaduna have persisted because of the “evil combination of politically-motivated banditry, revenge killings and mutual violence by criminal gangs acting on ethnic and religious grounds,” the presidency said on Tuesday.

Hundreds of people have been killed in various local governments of Southern Kaduna in the past couple of years.

The killings have continued despite the deployment of various military teams to the area.

One of such latest killings occurred on Sunday when armed men stormed communities in Kaura Local Government Area. At least 16 people were killed in that attack, residents told PREMIUM TIMES.

In his statement on Tuesday, presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, said “unlike other parts of the country, the problem of Southern Kaduna is more complicated than many critics are ready to acknowledge and understand.”

Read Mr Shehu’s full statement below.

REVENGE KILLINGS WORSENING SECURITY PROBLEMS IN SOUTHERN KADUNA – PRESIDENCY

The Presidency wishes to state that the problem of insecurity in Southern Kaduna State is more complicated than many people are willing to admit.

From available records, Southern Kaduna enjoys comprehensive security deployments, including the Army, Special Forces of both the Army and the Air Force, surveillance aircraft by the Air Force and mobile police units that are on the ground on a 24-hour basis to forestall criminality and keep the peace.

But unlike other parts of the country, the problem of Southern Kaduna is more complicated than many critics are ready to acknowledge and understand.

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From available security records, the problem in Southern Kaduna is an evil combination of politically-motivated banditry, revenge killings and mutual violence by criminal gangs acting on ethnic and religious grounds.

It is a situation in which one criminal group will kill a member of another criminal group out of ethnic and religious motivations which in turn leads to the eruption of revenge and counter-revenge, thereby making the job of the security personnel deployed to protect lives more difficult.

We note that revenge and counter-revenge only creates a circle of violence, thereby making everyone else unsafe, especially innocent people.

The Presidency advises the people against taking the law into their own hands which makes the job of security personnel more difficult. Instead, they should report any security breach or threat to peace to the law enforcement agencies.

What is required is for the local authorities to radically improve their intelligence capabilities so that security agencies will be alerted in a timely manner to enable them forestall any planned attacks.

The Presidency in the same manner condemns the recent attacks by bandits in Igali, Birnin Gwari and Giwa local government areas of the State while urging security agencies to intensify their response.

Garba Shehu

Senior Special Assistant to the President

(Media & Publicity)

July 21, 2020