Kaduna recruits 7,000 youths to fight insecurity
Troops of the Nigerian Army have reportedly arrested 39 suspected bandits operating in Plateau communities.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), spokesperson for Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), James Oya, said the suspects were arrested in one week.

Oya said two suspected members of a militia gang involved in the recent attack on Heipang community in BarkinLadi Local Council were also apprehended.

He added that the gang invaded the community and killed about 21 persons on August 10, and that the troops recovered arms and illicit drugs from the suspects.

“The suspects were arrested at different locations within the Joint Operation Area of OPSH and the 3 Division of the Nigerian Army’s area of responsibility,” he said. “Two of the suspects had been on our wanted list for their involvement in several armed robberies and kidnappings.

“We recovered one AK-47 rifle, one pump action Magnum gun, one AK-47 magazine, 14 rounds of 7.62mm ‘special’ ammunition and a mobile phone from the suspects.”

Among the suspects is a kidnapper and arms dealer, who was captured at KubaVillage in Bokkos Local Council of Plateau, he added.

The OPSH spokesperson said the troops, in another operation, arrested seven suspected drug peddlers and rescued 17 abducted persons in various areas of the state.

MEANWHILE, Kaduna State government has decided to recruit 7,000 youths to fight insecurity in the state.

The state is grappling with variety of security crises that include banditry, kidnapping, ethnic and religious crises for some time now.

Governor UbaSani said on Channels Television that he has also revived the Kaduna State Vigilance Service to strengthen the security architecture.

He announced that the hiring process would soon start, while claiming to have supported state police even as a senator, as “security agencies are lacking the boots.”

According to him, the gaps in the country’s security architecture made the development even more necessary.

“They (security agencies) obviously require the assistance of our neighbourhood vigilance service. We only have 2,000, but we are adding 7,000 to boost that number.

“I am glad that the Commissioner of Police, the Department of State Services (DSS) and even the General Officer Commanding (GOC) in Kaduna are all working to ensure that our vigilance service receives the proper training. It is crucial that we train them at the police college,” he stated.

Sani also claimed that the state government was collaborating with other stakeholders, such as religious organisations, to eradicate crime.

He remarked that discussions to fine-tune strategies for taming insecurity are also taking place with Northern governors.