As gunmen kill Taraba Catholic priest… FG says over 1,400 lost to banditry in 7 months, recommends Zamfara peace model

 

The federal government Thursday said the nation lost 1,460 deaths to banditry in about 330 attacks within the last seven months across the country.

Permanent Secretary Special Services Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Amina Shamaki said this at the opening of federal and states’ security administrators’ meeting in Birnin Kebbi.

While saying the attacks were however on the decline, she said the North-west which was one of the most peaceful zones in the country, had in the last few years, came under attacks by bandits, saying the security situation in the zone remained a source of concern to security agencies and the general populace.

She said: “From January to July, 2019, about 330 attacks were recorded, resulting to the death of about 1,460 civilians.

“However, between June and July, 2019, the number of incidents declined, especially in Zamfara state that had been the epicentre of armed banditry,” attributing the drop to the combination of both kinetic and non-kinetic measures put in place by the government.

“The dialogue initiated by the current Zamfara state governor, Alhaji Bello Matawalle, in particular, and the other governors in the zone is worthy of commendation and should be adopted by states with similar security challenges.

“Application of the carrot and stick approach is an effective strategy that enables criminals willing to embrace peace to do so while repentant ones are identified and isolated for appropriate actions by the security agencies,” the permanent secretary further said.

While bandits’ attacks had reduced drastically in Zamfara, she said same crime was on the increase in the contiguous states.

She further called for  vigilance and close monitoring of the repentant bandits by the security agencies to prevent them from returning to the trenches.

Shamaki said:“Another security concern is the porosity of our borders; the borders aided smuggling of small arms and light weapons from war-torn zones, including Libya and Central Africa Republic, terrorism, cross- border crimes, human trafficking, irregular migration and smuggling of migrants, among others.

“The federal government is doing a lot to improve border security with a view to addressing some of these challenges.”

She called on states sharing borders with the country’s neighbours to support government‘s efforts at enlightening their subjects on the implication of harbouring irregular migrants and other foreigners in their midst.

In his remarks, Kebbi state Governor Atiku Bagudu commended  the security agencies and judiciary in the state for their role in making the state peaceful and model for others.

He said:“It doesn’t matter if one state is peaceful while others are not, we should collapse the silos that divide us, embrace and understand each other in order to help ourselves in the provision of security in this country.”

Catholic priest killed

And  barely 24 hours after gunmen raided villages in Taraba state killing two people, gunmen Thursday ambushed and killed a Catholic priest, Reverend Father David Tanko, at Kufai Amadu in Takum local government area of the state.

 Tanko was until his death a serving priest of St. Peter’s Catholic Parish Amadu

The priest, according to reports, was killed  on his way to Takum for a peace meeting with his fellow clergymen on how to resolve the festering  Tiv, Jukun crisis.

Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Jalingo, Most Rev. Charles Hammawa confirmed the development Thursday.

He said: “We received the news of his death with shock. This is sad. The diocese is mourning. We have been preaching peace and making efforts to bring both parties in the crisis in the area to a roundtable discussion.

“For a priest who has been preaching peace to be killed in this most gruesome manner is pathetic, to say the least. A priest belongs to all.

“For now, we are not pointing accusing finger at any group. The Police authority in the state have promised me that they are investigating the case, we pray that the perpetrators be brought to justice.

“Our basic concern now is to give him a befitting burial. We don’t want any group to go on reprisal. Going on reprisal will only worsen the situation.”

He said the wake in the priest’s honour  holds Monday, while the burial takes place  Tuesday next week at the Diocesean cemetery in Jalingo.

 Masari pleads

In a related development, Katsina state Governor Aminu Bello Masari has advised Fulani leaders to counsel their children to desist from joining hands with criminals killing people or destroying property.

The governor also warned a gang known as Banglore wreaking havoc on the state to change their bad ways or be dealt with decisively.

Masari issued the warning Thursday while speaking at an enlarged security meeting comprising traditional rulers, Fulani leaders and security agencies in the state.

“A situation where people are being killed daily is unacceptable. Therefore, these criminals must repent or we as government know how to deal with them,” he said.

 The governor said Katsina, as the home state of the president, was now negatively portrayed in the international media.

 He assured that if any group was ready for peace, he would personally attend to that and make sure sanity returns to the rural communities in the state.

 Also speaking,  Emir of Katsina Abdulmumini Kabir Usman  cautioned against the shedding of blood of innocent persons.

 He tasked communities in his domain to live in peace with one another, describing the present spate of killings in the state as counterproductive.

IGP orders CP

Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police  Mohammed Adamu Thursday  ordered Taraba state Commissioner of Police to fish out the killers of Rev. Father  Tanko.

In a press statement by the Force Public Relations Officer DCP Frank Mba, the IGP directed commissioners of police in all the states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to, henceforth, pay special attention to the clergy and increase security around worship centres nationwide.

The IGP also directed the DIG in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) to provide additional forensic and other investigative assets to the Taraba State Command to aid investigation into the incident.

The police boss, who condoled with the Catholic faithful in Nigeria over the unfortunate incident, expressed deep concerns over the recent incidents of attacks on clerics in some parts of the country.

He, however, called for calm and pleaded for maximum support to the police towards unravelling authors of the crime, their motives, and circumstances surrounding the unfortunate killing of the priest.

Adamu reassured that the perpetrators of the dastardly act would not go undetected and unpunished.

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