The Ruruma community in Southern Kaduna, Kaduna State, has voiced its concerns about the severe effects of banditry and kidnapping in their region.
According to a press statement issued on Sunday and signed by its National President Mr. Daniel Dallah, the community has paid a staggering N1 billion in ransoms to bandits and kidnappers.
Tragically, 13 people have been reportedly brutally killed, and over 200 have been abducted.
The community noted that it is vulnerable to constant attacks, with bandits freely carting away valuables and even threatening to return due to the lack of military presence.
The community appealed to President Bola Tinubu’s administration to establish military presence in Kwasam, its local government headquarters to halt escalating incessant killings and abduction of their people by bandits.
Dallah stressed that establishing a military presence in the Kwasam area would not only bring stability to the region but also help restore normalcy in neighboring vulnerable communities that have been displaced over the years.
He emphasized the need for prompt action to restore security, protect lives and properties, and prevent further kidnappings, citing the abduction of a Central Bank of Nigeria Director in the area and the staggering N1 billion paid in ransom to incessant bandits.
“There has been a continued escalation of insecurity in our communities leading to brutal killing and displacement of people,” the statement said.
“The military formation in Kwasam axis will enable the communities that have been displaced to return to their ancestral land as they have abandoned their farms and farm produce. Currently, our Chief, Alh. Dauda Abdulsalam, the Pogom Kumana, for some years has not been at home, due to escalating insecurity in the region.
“Bandits have continued to occupy surroundings communities and farmlands unchallenged by security operatives.”
It said, “A CBN director was abducted in Kwasam were a colossal sum of N200 million was paid as ransom.
“Also, communities like Fagen rawa, Kaibi, Kusheka, Fadei, Ruruma, Rafin rimi, Kurera, Kitimi, Kakude and Kiwollo are all displaced by these bandits.”
He noted that establishing a military formation in Kwasam community, the headquarters of Ruruma, would be a strategic move to combat the rampant killings and abductions plaguing the local population, who are predominantly farmers.
According to Dallah, this formation would enable the military to respond swiftly and effectively to security threats, ultimately bringing much-needed peace and stability to the region.
“Bandits have rendered their communities incapacitated,” he said, adding that farmers are afraid to go to their farms for fear of being killed or kidnapped for ransom.
He said, “The creation of military base in Kwasam, the headquarters of Ruruma Community will serve the entire Kumana Chiefdom and other neighbouring communities which does not have any military formation, even a police division.
“The absence of this military formation has made the Ruruma and its surrounding communities vulnerable to constant kidnapping, and many valuables carted away unchallenged by the bandits with a promise of coming back.”
Dallah expressed the community’s willingness to support the military by donating houses or facilities to accommodate the troops once the formation is established.
He reaffirmed the community’s commitment to collaborating with security agencies and the government, stating that they are “100% ready” to work together to put an end to the ongoing insecurity.
