Kaduna lifts three months ban on telecom services in the state after bandits used the ban to their advantage to operate unhindered
The Kaduna State government has lifted the three months ban on telecommunication services in Kaduna State.
The ban was imposed in September to checkmate bandits in the State. But it turned out that it was aiding their activities as they could operate for hours without their victims being able to call for help from security agencies.
According to the Daily Trust, the State Government through the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, announced on Friday, November 26, that the relevant government agency in charge of telecommunication has been directed to lift the ban.
The lifting of the ban follows the upsurge in banditry activities, especially along the Kaduna-Abuja express road, which appears to be in the control of the bandits.
Aruwan said other measures like the ban on motorcycles, ban on weekly markets, selling of fuel in kegs remain in force.
Kaduna residents had said that they felt more insecure after the state government ordered telecommunication companies to shut down services in some parts of the state.
The residents complained that the activities of bandits appear to have increased after the shutdown of telecommunication services.
One resident who lives around Gbagyi Villa, a Kaduna suburb, says because of the telecom shutdown, bandits in the area have become more audacious in their activities since they know that residents won’t be able to call for help.
Another resident in Saminaka says they are at the mercy of the terrorists who could attack them when and how they wish, without any response from security agents since they can’t be reached on phone. He says even security operatives cant call for backup when the need arises.
Kaduna has been witnessing an increased kidnapping after telecom services were shut down in some parts of the state. The terrorists had on October 31, kidnap 60 church worshippers in a Baptist Church in Kakau Daji, a village in the Chikun local government area of the state. They killed one person during the attack.
On November 14, bandits also invaded the ECWA Church at Buda village, in the Kajuru local government area of Kaduna State. They abducted the pastor of the church, Pastor Dauda Isa and other worshipers. Their whereabouts remain unknown, like the 60 worshippers who were abducted in Chikun local government.
A former senator who represented Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, said the suspension of telecom services in the state has not stopped the cruelty of kidnappings.
Some residents are already accusing the state government of aiding the bandits in their kidnapping activities with the telecom shutdown. They observed that the telecom services were disrupted in the mainly Christian dominated Kaduna South area, which bears the brunt of the kidnappings, while communities in the Kaduna North where Muslims dominate, enjoy the services.
TheNiche tried getting the reaction of the Kaduna State commissioner for internal affairs, Samuel Aruwan, on whether the telecom shutdown was justifiable in the light of mass kidnappings. He didn’t take his calls. He also did not respond to a text message sent to him.