The Kaduna State government on Tuesday presented a security report, showing that 222 persons were killed due to banditry and other violent crimes in three months.

The report also shows that 774 others were kidnapped in the last three months.

The report also shows that bandits have started collecting levies from farmers in communities across 12 local government areas of the state to issue them permission to go to their farms and cultivate their fields.

The report was presented to Governor Nasir El-Rufai and other top government officials by Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs Samuel Aruwan.

According to the report, 266 citizens were injured across the state, while 8,553 cows and other livestock were rustled within the period under review.

Aruwan noted that 87 bandits were killed within the period.

“Banditry, violent attacks, communal clashes and reprisals in the second quarter accounted for 222 deaths across the State. Of this total, nine were women and eight were minors (below the age of 18).

“Of the total number, 159 deaths were recorded in Kaduna Central Senatorial District (72% of the total recorded). 156 of these occurred in Birnin Gwari, Giwa, Igabi, Chikun and Kajuru LGAs. Igabi LGA recorded 44 deaths, and Birnin Gwari LGA 42. Chikun LGA had 37, and Giwa LGA 21. Kajuru LGA recorded 12 deaths in the second quarter.

“Southern Kaduna Senatorial District had 54 deaths in total, of which five were women and four were below the age of 18. Kachia LGA had 21 deaths, followed by Jema’a LGA with 14, and Kauru LGA with six. While the Northern Senatorial District recorded nine people killed in the second quarter (around 4% of the total)

“Out of the 774 people kidnapped in the second quarter, Kaduna Central Senatorial District accounts for 555 (nearly 72% of the total). Birnin Gwari, Giwa, Igabi, Chikun and Kajuru LGAs recorded 550 of these. Chikun LGA had 148 citizens kidnapped, Igabi had 139, while 91 persons were kidnapped from Giwa LGA. Kajuru LGA had 89 kidnapped citizens, and Birnin Gwari LGA recorded 83.

“Southern Kaduna Senatorial District recorded 164 kidnapped persons, with Kachia LGA reporting the highest number of 111. The Northern Senatorial District recorded 55 kidnapped persons, with 37 of these from Zaria LGA.

“In total, 239 women, and 32 minors were kidnapped in the second quarter across the State. Twenty (20) persons were reported to have been raped across the State from April to June 2021. Thirteen (13) of these were minors. Ten (10) rape cases were reported from the Southern Kaduna Senatorial District, comprising five minors. Eight (8) of the cases were recorded in the Northern Senatorial District, with seven of them minors. Four (4) cases were reported from Soba LGA.

“A notable case was the rape of an eight-year-old boy who was sodomized by an adult in Hunkuyi, Kudan LGA. This case – as with other cases where perpetrators have been apprehended. The case is being pursued by the appropriate agencies to ensure the swift dispensation of justice.

“Citizens injured across the state as a result of banditry, violent attacks, reprisals and communal clashes numbered 266 in total. Eighteen (18) of these were women, and five were below the age of 18.

“8,553 heads of cattle were rustled in the state in the second quarter, with most stolen from the Kaduna Central Senatorial District, which accounted for around 67% of the total (5,715),” he said.

Aruwan said banditry has hampered farming activities in the state.

“Bandits attack and abduct farmers working on (or on their way to) their fields. Several farmers have similarly been killed.

“Furthermore, bandits have begun to extract protection levies from some communities in return for permission to cultivate their fields. Many farmers in these areas, fearing for their lives and safety, have abandoned their fields altogether. This has already begun to affect crop yields, and the threat of food insecurity looms large.

“The most affected communities are in the frontline local government areas of Birnin Gwari, Igabi, Giwa, Zaria, Chikun, Kauru, Kajuru, Kachia, Kagarko, Zangon Kataf, Jema’a and Sanga,” Aruwan said.

He also noted that banditry has led to the near-total collapse of the local economy in frontline areas, which is mainly sustained by crop and livestock farming, adding that, “the activities of bandits in these areas have dispossessed residents of their foremost means of sustenance and disrupted the operation of the usually dynamic weekly markets.

He added that the state government’s strategies to address the security challenges affecting the state have been sustained through the second quarter of 2021.

Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Police Command said its operatives and men of the Civilian-JTF have rescued one of the 121 students kidnapped from Bethel Baptist High School, Kaduna last week and two other kidnap victims.

The Command said the three victims were rescued during a routine rescue patrol mission around the forest of Tsohon Gaya village of Chikun LGA of Kaduna State.

A statement by the Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Mohammed Jalige said the two other rescued victims were kidnapped recently along Kaduna-Kachia Road.