Kaduna legislator seeks all-inclusive approach to end banditry

A member of the Kaduna state House of Assembly, Yusuf Mugu, on Sunday visited Zangang, a rural community in Kaura Local Government Area, which was attacked by bandits on Thursday.

The police confirmed the death of five persons with several others injured in Thursday’s attack, while several houses were also burnt by the attackers who invaded the hilly settlement in the night.

Mugu, who spoke in Manchok, shortly after the visit, decried the incessant attacks on his constituents and called for an all-inclusive approach to end banditry in the area and other parts of the country.

He expressed deep concern over the incessant killings and other cases of criminality like kidnapping, particularly in Kaduna state, and declared that it is high time stakeholders came together to seek lasting solutions.

“Rather than jumping into a fire brigade approach after every incident, stakeholders, especially government, community development associations, religious and traditional institutions must brainstorm and come up with lasting solutions.

“Issues of development are unthinkable with these recurring incidences of killings and banditry.

“Kaduna and Plateau states must fashion out a way to end the shedding of innocent blood,” Mugu, who represents Kaura constituency said.

Mugu expressed worry over the livelihood of the affected community since the fear-stricken villagers, who were predominantly subsistence farmers would be too scared to return to their farmlands for harvest.

“I saw some security agents there, but they can only be there for a short period while some members of the community, whose houses were spared, may not be bold enough to return to their farms for fear of the unknown.”

The legislator dismissed suggestions that the incident concerned only Plateau state, reiterating that “any responsible government must cater for the common good of every Nigerian, especially if it affects loss of lives and property.

“That the incident affected parts of Kirin community in Plateau state and Zankan in Kaduna state does not make it an exclusively, Plateau state or Kaduna state affair. If you look at the pattern of attack, Kaduna state suffered close to 80 per cent of the loss,” he fumed.

The legislator, who condoled with the families of the deceased, urged members of the affected community to be security conscious and report any suspicious activity to the security agencies. (NAN)