Villagers in Rijana, a community along the Kaduna-Abuja highway, yesterday told the Minister of Interior, Lt-Gen Abdulrahman Danbazzau (rtd.), that they lost 18 people at different times to suspected kidnappers for revealing facts about them to security agencies.

The villagers said information divulged to security agents had not been treated with secrecy and had thus often led to the killing of informants.

The minister was in Rijana, near Kaduna city, on a fact finding mission.

A former special assistant to former Governor Ahmed Makarfi on rural development, Abdulsalam Abubakar, who spoke on behalf of the community, detailed the problems associated with kidnapping in the area, saying, “We members of the communities around live in fear, specifically we in Rijana. It’s not that we don’t have information to give but we are scared. We can’t see reason 600 security personnel deployed along the highway can’t enter the bush and flush out the criminals. Our youths have mixed with criminals and they have been corrupted by them. But our major problem is the fear of death. Our people are now scared to give information.”

Speaking of specific instances of volunteering information and paying the ultimate prize, he said, “There was one of us who was seen as a very brave man. He gave list of suspects to the security people and he was macheted into pieces three days after in the presence of his wife. Also, there was a gentleman, Mallam Abdulrahman who also gave information; he was also macheted to death. Same with Yakubu, Sani and Solomon. They all died through information given to the security agents. Wallahi Tallahi, there are bad eggs among the security personnel especially the police. Whoever tells you Honourable Minister that this does not exist in the police is telling you lies.”

He commended the Inspector General of Police for stepping up patrol on the highway, but said robberies and kidnappings were still going on because “if you tell a policeman that robbery or kidnapping is ongoing somewhere close by, he will tell you point blank that he will not go because he does not carry the weapon criminals carry.”

The minister in his comment declared kidnappers along the Abuja-Kaduna highway as terrorists and assured that government had resolved to end kidnapping. “It is a promise and we will do everything possible to address the situation. We will also protect our informants,” he said.

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