By Joseph Edegbo –
Some communities along Kaduna – Abuja Highway have distanced themselves from the alleged connivance with bandits to carry attacks on motorists plying the road.
At a news conference in Kaduna Friday, the communities, Katari, Akilbu and Rijana said they are eminently miffed and appalled by the unsavory pronouncements by Governor el-Rufai, that are inherently very damaging, injurious, misleading and volatile.
The communities who spoke through the President of Katari Development Association, Makeri Mohammed emphasized that to the best of their knowledge, they are not aware of the involvement of any of their members either directly or indirectly in any verifiable cases of banditry within and outside the communities and therefore described the allegation as largely ruse, trivial and unfounded.
He expressed dismay that the communities were not given the benefit of doubt or any fair hearing with a view to establishing the veracity or otherwise of the weighty allegations leveled against them prior to the Governor’s damaging public statement.
According to the Association’s President, there are overwhelming indications that government is fully aware of the movement of bandits, their bases and some of their financiers.
“The question then is why is the Federal government reluctant in authorizing a synchronized military action in the entire North-West to completely root out these terrorists since the passage of the law branding bandits as terrorists? Why chasing shadows instead of dealing with substances. Why is government interested in making vulnerable communities scapegoats while the real criminals are allowed to traverse the length and breadth of this country without let hindrance”, he wondered.
Mohammed also spoke of what he called “Conspiracy Factor” in which the Nigerian Air force stage managed an incidence faking to have bursted a kidnapping gang purportedly hibernating in the Katari community.
In the fabricated incident, he said, the Air force gathered some youths, paid them N1,000 each after the mock simulation exercise in a helicopter promised recruiting them into the force but later went to deceive the world that NAF have smashed bandits.
“Touchingly, pictures of these innocent young boys were brazenly displayed as the captured notorious bandits,” he explained.
Mohammed who spoke at length stressed the need for constructive engagement between relevant government agencies and critical stakeholders in the respective communities to foster a workable synergy in the fight against banditry in the area.
That all identifiable flash spots where bandits normally take undue advantage of to perpetrate their heinous acts should be placed under strict security control.
For instance, he said, the route that traverses the highway between Katari and K/Kare should be blocked by locating a strong military presence there.
Governor El-Rufai had on 19th May, 2022 while receiving the first quarter security report for the year 2022 accused the communities of conniving with bandits to commit their heinous crimes along Kaduna – Abuja high way threatening to relocate them.