Bandits have reportedly abducted 22 residents in fresh separate attacks in the Kugauta community of Kusheka, Kumana Chiefdom, and Kitanda community of Geshere, Kumana Chiefdom in Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
A student pastor and a resident, Emmanuel Johnson, confirmed the abductions on Saturday.
According to him, the assailants invaded the two communities in separate attacks on Friday at about 10:30 pm, kidnapping 22 locals, mostly women and children.
Johnson narrated that 12 locals were kidnapped in the Kitanda community of Geshere, Kumana Chiefdom, while 10 locals were also whisked away in the Kugauta community of Kusheka, Kumana Chiefdom.
Johnson lamented that despite the escalating kidnapping by bandits and other criminal elements in their communities, only three policemen were manning their community and neighbouring villages.
He said their communities and surrounding villages have been consistently attacked, and villagers are being kidnapped daily.
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“The police officers manning our communities cannot secure our Villages; the Government must show us that we’re Nigerians and we have equal rights to be protected by the Nigerian Government authorities.
“Most locals were forced to leave their villages as a result of the escalating kidnapping and killings of our loved ones.
“Over N60 million have been paid as ransom while many are still in the kidnappers’ custody,” Johnson disclosed.
“We’re facing an infrastructural deficit, in terms of roads network, hospitals and schools, adding we hardly can take our farm produce to the market because of the nature of the roads here”, he said.
According to him, the situation in their respective communities is worrisome, and the government must show some level of seriousness in handling the persistent insecurity problems in the areas.
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“The army, NAF, and other sister security agencies must conduct offensive operations to flush these bandits terrorizing our communities out of those camps.
“These bandits have meted all kinds of hardship on our people, crippling our economy and plunging us into abject poverty,” he added.
He called on the government to establish police stations and army forward operating bases in strategic areas, stressing, that’ll help in addressing the escalating insecurity bedeviling our environments daily
When contacted, the Kaduna State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Mansir Hassan, did not respond to calls and a text message sent to him by our correspondent as of the time of filing this report.
PUNCH