Bam and gboom, with sessions of kakagboom were the reports from travellers penetrating to and fro Lagos, Benin, Enugu and the 10 states in Nigeria bullying Kogi State into the centre. The Okene Itobe road was the most nefarious. With travellers turning born-agains when travelling that route for the fear of how it may be their last. The siege could last for hours before they cross into Itobe bridge.
The Ebiras had been labelled criminals and had the reputation of “violence” won on their heads like a stubborn pimple. Even though Kogi central was also a victim of inter-travelling criminals and fulani gun wielding men who robbed on the roads because Kogi is a link state, hence, prone to “moving crimes”.
The Kogi State Government declared a fully activated curfew which was to last 24hours, it ended today. There’s an extension.
There’s been reactions from Kogites and Nigerians, especially those aggravated by the perceived nature of the Governor not to be salary -friendly. We are living in very trying times, salaries are not regular, understably, however, we have other gains from good governance- security.
Kogi was a haven of creative crimes. From kidnapping to cultism, highway hit and run intimidators into splinter cell of terrorists. We may not be hailing strong in salary payment, but we are hailing strong in security of lives and properties. In the past year, Bokoharam faithful constituted a debris in Kogi Central. Decisively, the Governor who is also the Chairman of the Security council of the All Progressives Congress, APC Governors injected billions into security trust by ensuring mobility of security agents while creating a joint-task force of the national security architecture in the state; waking up the comatose vigilante group in the state for community policing and dealing decisively with criminal elements and their enablers.
Stay with me. I will provide clues to the curfew.
I am preaching this. Sycophanting this. I will because the bad reputation that goes with Kogi doesn’t have a stake in security.
These were the quick wins from those efforts culminated into:
1. Arrests and destruction of the hide outs of kidnappers who found a home in the state. Buildings with exotic cars were destroyed in Okene to this effect.
2. Some thugs running networks of criminal activities were hound and arrested.
3. The vigilante group dealt with homegrown community criminals and cultism.
4. 20meters perimeter clearing of the bushes on the highway gave drivers clear sight for safety and manoeuvring before danger.
5. 10km road blocks on intra and inter-roads within the state on the hot areas prone to security attacks.
All these wrestled the high spate of insecurity into paltry recorded cases. His strides in this area won him the Inspector General of Police’ award on Security sometime this year.
In the month of August, national security reports across Nigeria reported that incidence of reported crime rate in Kogi state decimated into o.65%, which is about 1, 300 reported cases in an over 4.3m population. That is rare for a link state in Nigeria.
Returning to the Curfew.
There were recently a triage of assassination in Kogi Central preceding November. Quoting the speech given by the Governor after the assassination which some rabble rousers fingered Government of murdering her own citizens, reads:
” The killing of three persons in Kogi Central Senatorial District this week greatly saddens me. Our hearts go out to the family of Abdulganiyu Aduki, an artisan who was killed around 7:30pm on Tuesday, 31st October, 2017 at Nagazi in Adavi Local Government Area. His wife and daughter were also shot during the incidence and are currently hospitalised due to their injuries. We condole with them for their dead and join them to pray for the full and quick recovery of the injured.
We also commiserate with those left behind by Mallam Abdulmumin Yaqub and his friend, Mallam Ibrahim Otaru, who were gunned down at the home of the former in Ozuwaya, Bariki Ward of Okene Local Government Area around 7pm on Wednesday, 1st November, 2017.
From the information available to us, the brazen manner in which these cruel killings were carried out indicate they are premeditated assassinations executed for the express purpose of taking the lives of the deceased persons. There was also a clear intention to kill any hapless person who happens to be present at the time of the attack.
As soon as I was briefed on this dastardly incident, I directed the Police and other security agencies to track down the killers. Law enforcement is already on their trail and I have put the full support of my Administration at their disposal. I promise Kogites that we will leave no stone unturned till we find and decisively put these cowardly criminals out of business in the manners prescribed by law.
Our people must be safe in every part of Kogi State, especially in their homes. This has remained our preoccupation in Government. Kogites will bear us witness that in the nearly two years we have been in Office we have taken Kogi State from being one of the leading theatres of kidnapping, armed robbery, thuggery and violent crimes in the nation to her current status as one of the safest states to live and do business in Nigeria”. (Yahaya Bello, November 2nd, 2017).
The time frame for these murders are very suspicious. Security is not a party affair, it doesn’t know politicians or the common man, therefore joint security efforts are needed for a secure environment.
The recently declared curfew was a proactive step in acting on an intelligence for a repeat of assassinations, this time without certain cause, perhaps, religiously or politically motivated. In a case that it is political, why would a government that intends to kill her opposition members also declare a curfew to protect them?
They’re also cases of national and state security affairs which cannot be debated on the media. The current dusk-to-dawn Curfew in Kogi central is of that nature, because media information can truncate intelligence trails of criminals.
It is thereby expected that indigenes of the affected region, Kogites living in the state and diasporans should encourage the protection of lives and properties. Those non Kogites speaking grammar for a case that is clearly not their business doesn’t have the security calm we have in our state. The statistics are there for checks. It is by sacrifices like this that we have achieved it.
The short time notification is a no brainer. Criminals don’t announce when they’ll hit your home. Security agencies can only respond on the spot which is what we are currently experiencing.
Kogi might not be paying up to date salaries, but we are out and proud to have secure state that would keep people alive before their salaries are paid.
– Promise Emmanuel KogiRebel
