Kano challenges operatives to fish out criminals
Kaduna State Government has disclosed plans to merge a total of 359 schools over incessant activities of bandits, which had resulted in cases of abduction and kidnapping in the state.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ forum and the training of the Schools’ Protection Squad, yesterday, Governor Uba Sani, represented by his Chief of Staff, Sani Kila, said the schools in vulnerable communities would be merged with those in safe locations, as part of measures to safeguard the schools and children from being attacked by bandits.
According to him, the launched school protection squad, under the Federal Government’s Safe School Initiative, is aimed at securing schools, children and teachers from all forms of attacks by bandits and terrorists.
While noting that Kaduna was one of the states that had been waging a sustained battle against banditry, terrorism, kidnapping, and other forms of criminality, Kila lamented that the activities of non-state actors had disrupted socio-economic activities in the affected communities, and were threatening the educational revitalisation programme of the state.
“Kaduna State’s educational system is facing a crisis of declining enrolment, with over 200,000 fewer primary school pupils recorded in the 2022/2023 academic session compared to the previous year. This dramatic drop (from 2,111,969 in 2021/2022 to 1,734,704 in 2022/2023) is largely attributed,” he said.
Just as Kaduna is planning to relocate schools over insecurity, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State has challenged security agencies to find a solution to insecurity in the country.
Besides, Yusuf asked security agencies to be proactive in mitigating security threats before they escalate.
The governor gave the advice, yesterday at the opening of the 14h Quarterly Conference of the State Directors of Security (SDS), Northwest Zone holding in Kano.
Although, Yusuf said the presence of heads of DSS in the zone would generate robust ideas and knowledge, the governor believed the intelligence gathering must cut across information sharing from the stakeholders.
Yusuf said the conference was coming at a period when the security architecture of the country was being threatened by terrorists and other criminal elements, especially in the North, adding that collaboration and synergy among security agencies had become pertinent to tackle the challenges.
He said: “I challenge you to use intelligence data gathering to locate the whereabouts of those perpetrating crimes: Are they politicians, traditional leaders, religious or business community? They should do more to unravel those sponsoring and conducting attacks on innocent lives for the country to be peaceful.”
Earlier, the convener, and Director, DSS, Kano State, Alhassan Muhammad, explained that the yearly conference was designed to compare notes, review emerging threat and strategy to unravel the threat.
Speaking on behalf of the DSS DG, Yusuf Magaji Bichi, the state director noted that with the evolving world of security concerns, management of intelligence and security was fast becoming a complex and multifaceted phenomenon.
