The Northwest and Northcentral zones need a military Theater Command akin to the Operation Hadin Kai Theater Command of the Northeast to effectively combat the banditry and other forms of terror devastating them.
The Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, who called for the establishment of such command in the Northwest cater for the two zones, also called for the extension of the operations of the Multinational Joint Taskforce to cover international borders spanning the two zones to approach the terror fight from all directions.
Aruwan was speaking at the public presentation of peace reports by Southern Kaduna Pilot Peace Project and on Inter Religious Harmony and Deep Dives Peace Dialogue, Plateau State, spondored by the Gideon and Funmi Para-Mallum Peace Foundation and the British High Commission.
“Setting up the Theater Command to cover the Northwest and Northcentral and the extension of the Multinational Joint Task Force Operations to these zones, will go a long way in enhancing existing efforts, and also help in curtailing the proliferation of small arms and light weapons,” he maintained.
Aruwan took stock of the devastating impact of conflict and violence on Kaduna communities in 2021 and the first half of 2022, saying that in 2021, 1,192 people lost their lives in Kaduna State due to banditry, terrorism, communal clashes, violent attacks and reprisals; 406 of these lives were lost in the Southern Kaduna general area, mostly through killings and counter-killings.
In the first six months of 2022, he said, 645 people lost their lives in such circumstances across the State; 234 of these occurred in the Southern Kaduna area.
The commissioner said besides the loss of life and limb, there are the grim socio-economic effects of violence, eroding the viability of affected communities, saying, “Food insecurity is a close reality in frontline areas where farmers are threatened and attacked by bandits.”
He said the situation also presents a persistent threat to education as students and teachers have been attacked in several incidents over the last 18 months, adding that healthcare delivery has also been affected, as health workers and facilities in frontline locations face the threat of marauding bandits.
