Soldiers, Police Comb Forests as Bandits Kill Seven Worshippers in Kaduna Mosque

* State govt commences training of 7,000 vigilantes

John Shiklam in Kaduna

A combined unit of military and other security personnel have besieged forests in Kaduna State in search of bandits who pretended to be members of the Ikara community and killed seven Muslim worshippers in a mosque.
This is as the police authorities in the state have blamed the members of the Ikara community for not alerting security personnel of the presence of strange persons in their community, who were seen in the market and other places by the Ikara natives before they struck.

Five of the victims were gunned down in the mosque, while the remaining two other victims were killed at different locations within the area.
The incident happened around 8p.m. when the villagers were performing Isha’i (Sunset) prayers at a local mosque, according to local sources.
A resident of the village, Dan Asabe, said two other villagers who sustained gunshot wounds were rushed to the hospital for treatment.
The village Head, Malam Abdulrahaman Yusuf, confirmed the incident, saying the head of the vigilante in the village was among the victims killed inside the mosque.

“We suspected they traced him (vigilante boss) to the mosque to attack him. We were inside the mosque praying when they arrived and started shooting. Five persons were killed at the mosque, while a driver who brought food items to the village was also killed. The other person was killed at a nearby village,” he said.
He said security agencies comprising soldiers and police from Ikara town and Palgore area arrived at the scene around 12:30am, but by then, the bandits had already left the village.

According to him, one of the victims with gunshot wounds was taken to Aminu Kano Hospital for treatment.
He said the village was thrown into confusion.
When contacted, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Uba Sani, Mohammad Lawal Shehu, declined comment, saying he would confirm the issue from the Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs.
But the acting Public Relations Officer of the state police command, Mansir Alhassan, who confirmed the incident, said security personnel had been mobilised to nearby bushes to fish out the perpetrators.

According to him, the police and other security agencies were not informed of the attack until after the attackers had left the area.
He urged the members of the public to always report suspicious movement within their communities to nearby security agencies at the right time.
The police allegedly blamed the Ikara natives for failure to inform them of the presence of the bandits in good time, so as to thwart their mission, and disclosed that “the bandits were spotted in the village on surveillance earlier in the day but none of the villagers could alert the appropriate security agency before the hoodlums struck in the night.”

“The command is not happy with the situation. The bandits went to the village around 4 p.m., buying things from the villagers. Seeing strange faces, the villagers were supposed to communicate with the police in the area.”
“The Commissioner of Police is drawing the attention of the public that whenever they see strange faces, they should alert security agencies that are close to them. The public should assist the police in giving prompt information for quick response,” Hassan said.
Meanwhile, the Kaduna State government has commenced the training of 7,000 recruits of the State Vigilance Service (KADVS)
Speaking while declaring the training opened on yesterday at the Police College, Kaduna, the state governor, Senator Uba Sani, said the recruitment was done to assist security agencies with actionable intelligence in tackling the security challenges facing the state.

He said with their knowledge of the local environment, bandits will have no hiding place.
According to him, the recruits were drawn from the 23 local governments areas of the state.
Sani said his administration is committed to strengthening the manpower and overall operational capacity of KADVS to compliment the efforts of security agencies in combating crime.

“Since its establishment, KADVS has been working with security agencies to degrade criminal elements.
“But we face the challenge of inadequate personnel to successfully wage the battle against bandits and other criminal elements.
“It is for this reason that our administration decided to recruit 7,000 personnel into the Kaduna Vigilance Service (KADVS)”, the governor said.
According to him, the recruitment and screening of the trainees was the collaborative efforts of council chairmen, traditional and religious leaders, key stakeholders at the grassroots level, and security agencies.
“The screening was very thorough. We have here energetic young men and women of transparent honesty who are committed to securing our local communities.
“The Kaduna Vigilance Service is a complementary security outfit. It will assist the security agencies with actionable intelligence.
“With its knowledge of the local environment, bandits will have no hiding place,” Sani said.
He, however, warned the recruits against violating the rights of citizens, stressing that KADVS was set up to protect the people, not to violate their rights.
“We shall not hesitate to discipline any person that flouts the operational guidelines or code of conduct of the service,” he warned.