Friday, 29th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

Kaduna government varies curfew, gives residents four hours to restock

By Abdulganiyu Alabi, Kaduna, with Agency Reports
24 October 2018   |   4:05 am
The Kaduna State Government has varied the 24-hour curfew it imposed on Kaduna metropolis and other parts of the state on Sunday with immediate effect.This was contained in a statement issued by Senior Special Assistant to Governor Nasir El-Rufai...

Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai PHOTO: TWITTER/GOVERNOR KADUNA

• CAN advises against review of restriction
• Address cause of clashes, UN official urges state authorities

The Kaduna State Government has varied the 24-hour curfew it imposed on Kaduna metropolis and other parts of the state on Sunday with immediate effect.This was contained in a statement issued by Senior Special Assistant to Governor Nasir El-Rufai on Media and Publicity, Samuel Aruwan yesterday in Kaduna.

He said the decision followed a meeting of the Kaduna State Security Council, which received reports and deliberated on the security situation, after which it recommended that the curfew in Kasuwan Magani and Kujama be relaxed, so that people could move between 6:00am and 5:00pm.

However, the curfew in Kasuwan Magani and Kujama remains but will now be enforced from 5:00pm to 6:00am until further notice.“The State Security Council determined that threats continue in Kabala West, Kabala Doki, Sabon-Tasha, Narayi and Maraban Rido within Kaduna metropolis where attacks on places of worship were either attempted overnight or contemplated.

“Therefore, the Security Council has decided that the 24-hour curfew should remain in those places, and will be vigorously enforced. Any individual that violates the order will be arrested, while security agencies have been directed to engage any hoodlums or unauthorised persons or groups with appropriate force,” the statement reads.He explained that for the rest of Kaduna metropolis, the Security Council noted an improvement in the security situation, and therefore, decided that a window be provided for residents to restock on essentials.

“Therefore, the curfew in the rest of Kaduna metropolis is relaxed from 1:00pm to 5:00pm to enable markets, shops and businesses to open and sell products to residents.

“Security agents will patrol and protect the markets to ensure safety and deal with any attempts by hoodlums to engage in criminal conduct. The 24-hour curfew in Kaduna metropolis will be re-imposed from 5pm today (yesterday) and until further notice. Aruwan, however, said the window did not include Kabala West, Kabala Doki, Sabon-Tasha, Narayi and Maraban Rido where the 24-hour curfew still remains in force.

However, Secretary, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Kaduna State chapter, Reverend Sunday Ibrahim, has advised the state government against hasty review of the curfew following clashes, which left several persons dead on Sunday.Ibrahim gave the advice in an interview in Kaduna, saying there was still tension in the state, which could only be checked by the restriction of movement.He said that lifting the curfew when the dust had not fully settled would give room for further attacks and deaths.

Also, some residents of Rigasa Community have lamented that life has become extremely difficult for them since the imposition of curfew on the city.Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), they pointed out that they were finding it difficult to feed as they have run out of foodstuffs.

Even local shop owners said they have run out of essential commodities including sachet water, as markets remained shut in Kaduna and environs.Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator, Dr. Edward Kallon, has appealed to stakeholders to address the root causes of incessant clashes in Kasuwan Magani, Kajuru Local Government Area and other parts of Kaduna State and bring the perpetrators of the violence to book.

Kallon, who made the appeal in a statement issued in Abuja, said: “I have also learned with sadness, the loss of over 50 persons following communal clashes in Kasuwan Magani area, South of Kaduna.“I urge authorities in the State to seriously look into circumstances leading to these clashes, which have become too common.”

In this article

0 Comments