Members of the Ebira Peoples Association (EPA), the umbrella body of all Ebira people at home and in the Diaspora, are seriously concerned about the rampant cases of mindless killings, kidnappings, robberies and other violent crimes and general insecurity and criminality in Kogi State, especially in Kogi Central Senatorial Zone.
Despite the efforts of governments at all levels, criminals seem to operate freely and unhindered by the presence of a combined forces of police, soldiers and para-military agents. In the last one year, no week has passed without incidents of kidnapping, abduction and even murder in the state.
Kogi state is geographically at the heart of this country as the only state that has land borders with as many as eleven states and the Federal Capital Territory (a third of the country).
If we dare to look the other way while criminal elements carve out a place for themselves as a forwarding operational base, the consequences may be too much for the entire country if another insurgency brews in this area. This problem is not ours alone. The entire country must wake up to this danger, and help eradicate this virus.
We are under siege in Kogi Central. The situation is so bad that nearly everyone in Kogi Central in particular, now lives in absolute fear. Sons and daughters of Kogi Central who live outside the state are now scared of coming home. For many other Nigerians, traveling through the state has become a fearful experience as security is not guaranteed.
The situation has also taken a heavy toll on businesses in an area generally regarded as the economic nerve-centre of the state.
Most abductions in Nigeria are done for ransom and the victims are usually freed upon payment of ransom or some form of negotiation. The situation in Kogi State has gotten so bad that even where the kidnappers have been paid or offered ransom, the victims are either killed or kept in the custody of their abductors with no further communication with relatives thus foreclosing them reuniting with their families.
Let it be on record that no abducted person has ever been successfully rescued, as those that have so far gained their freedom have done so after paying ransom.
EPA has followed with keen interest efforts by the Kogi State Government and the Local Government Authorities of Kogi Central Senatorial Zone in combating the menace of kidnapping. But in the light of the worsening situation, there is an urgent need for a change of strategy.
While commending the security agencies and assuring them that EPA will continue to avail them of useful information that will assist them in wiping out criminal elements in our midst, we cannot also fail to observe that these security agents appear overwhelmed at present, largely due to logistical and manpower inadequacies. Intelligence gathering has also become ever so difficult as many residents fear to complain to the increasingly complacent security agents. Such level of distrust has further worsened an already bad situation. There cannot be effective policing when persons to be secured don’t feel safe enough to share credible intelligence with the agencies.
The majority of our people are peace-loving and law-abiding. We have resolved, therefore, not to fold our hands and allow a small band of evil people to turn our homeland into a fiefdom of criminals. We urge our people to be vigilant and to report suspicious persons within the community to the appropriate authorities.
We must also remain our brothers’ keepers by sustaining the goodwill, love for one another and good neighbourliness which we are well known for.
Let me also use this opportunity to commend the youths of Kogi Central, particularly members of the Ebira Youth Congress, for their steadfastness and vigilance. I urge our people to remain steadfast and be ready to defend their communities at all times.
Members of EPA have agreed to continue to interface with government at all levels and to support the security agencies in addressing the security challenges in the area.
We shall deepen our partnership with the mass media, especially the local media organizations, to raise the level of awareness and security consciousness among our people while also supporting other communal efforts to arrest these unfortunate incidents of kidnapping in our land.
We would like to specifically make the following suggestions to governments at all levels. Our suggestions consist of Short, Medium and Long Term measures, policies and strategies which we hope would be urgently considered and approved:
1. All police, soldiers and state security officers as well as para-military agents currently serving in Kogi Central should be redeployed immediately and be replaced with new ones. As a matter of fact, no security agent should spend more than six months in the area to avoid being thoroughly compromised as it is being largely suspected now. The total number of personnel in the state in general needs to be increased to effectively cope with the geographical peculiarity of the state.
2. Both federal and state governments should make concerted efforts to reinforce and review security measures in terms of material, personnel and modus operandi in order to safeguard lives and properties in Kogi Central.
3. Security should be intelligence driven by interfacing with community leaders, ward heads, local vigilante groups, hunters, farmers.
4. There should be a coordinated tactical operation to smoke out criminal elements from their hideouts in homes, bushes, caves, hills, etc.
5. Security surveillance should be on 24-hour duty across the land, instead of the present situation whereby most hotspots are left unmanned through most hours of the day.
6. Operational strategy to security matters should be proactive in approach rather than reactive, while adopting a more effective method to unravel all already perpetrated damages.
7. Governments should as a matter of urgency explore and support the possibility of integrating “CIVILIAN JTF “ into the security system of the land to complement conventional security agencies.
8. Governments should provide toll free security numbers to report cases of security infractions.
9. Kogi State government should mobilise hunters into vigilante groups at various community levels
10. The state government should constitute a body of community based organization heads to proffer solutions to various security threats and to enhance intelligence gathering.
11. The federal government should urgently complete the moribund Ajaokuta Steel Company to reduce youth unemployment, which is partly responsible for the rising crimes.
12. The state government should construct police posts at various dark spots in the district so that criminals will no longer hide there.
13. All issues of state civil service screening exercise should be concluded within the shortest possible time to reduce the frustration arising thereof and the insecurity that non-payment of salaries portends.
Dr. Adeiza is President-General of Ebira Peoples Association (EPA)
