As the yuletide season approaches, Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna state has urged motorists and passengers to further ply the Kaduna-Abuja highway, noting that it is Nigeria’s safest road, having been cleansed of the kidnappers and bandits terrorising it.
The dual carriageway, which hitherto serves as gateway from Abuja, central and southern parts of the country to the Northwest and Northeast, became a no-go area following the activities of ransom kidnappers and bandits, but el-Rufai said that the road is safe again due to three major factors.
Addressing the federal and states security administrators meeting on Thursday in Kaduna, el-Rufai said creation of ministry of internal security and home affairs, proactive measures by security agencies and collaboration between the air force carrying out reconnaissance and surveillance and ground force receiving the data and acting on it have helped to make the road safe.
“The Kaduna-Abuja road has not witnessed a single incident of criminality or kidnapping in the last two and half months. But, many people still think it is not safe, they are not plying it. That road is the safest road in Nigeria today.
“The security agencies have changed their strategies from reaction to pro-action. They don’t wait until kidnapping takes place. They identify where the bandits are and they go and attack them; so the bandits have been on the run. In the past, we wait until it happens and then, we start running helter-skelter.
“There is high level of coordination and cooperation within the security agencies. The Air Force is in the air doing intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance and feeding the police and others on the ground with information. The level of cooperation has been enhanced, the kidnappers that used to stay around the road have all been wiped out or chased deeper into the jungle.”
Also speaking, Permanent Secretary Special Services and Chairman Federal and States Security Administrators Meeting, office of the Secretary to Government of the Federation, Mrs Amina Shamaki called for increased security, while cautioning against reckless driving and careless harmattan fire ahead of the yuletide season.
“We need to tighten security as the yuletide season approaches, we need to caution motorists against over speeding and reckless driving and we need to caution Nigerians against fire incidents during this harmattan season. Recently, illegal rehabilitation centers were shut down in Kaduna, Zaria, Ilorin, Kano, Ibadan and Daura for engaging in inhuman treatment including sexual abuse.
“Some of these people were brought in by their parents and guardians. The prevalence of these illegal rehabilitation centers was due to dearth of formal rehabilitation centers ran by NDLEA in the country. The low number of psychologists, psychiatrists and sociologists are also to blame. There is need for more rehabilitation centers and more medical personnel in the country.”
