Telecom has been shut down in Kaduna since September. The reason is to defeat the bandits, but it seems unworkable
By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
Residents in Kaduna say they feel more insecure after the state government ordered telecommunication companies to shut down services in some parts of the state.
The residents are worried 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.
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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.