Coalition tasks locals on credible information to military

Okwe Obi, Abuja

To stem the killing spree in some parts of Southern Kaduna State, a coalition under the aegis of Southern Kaduna Indigenous Peace Practitioners (SOKIPEP), has appealed to locals to provide credible information to security personnel deployed to area, claiming that the agents were finding it difficult to ascertain the veracity of reports they get.

National Coordinator of SOKIPEP, Rev. Dr Dauda Fadia, in a statement yesterday, further urged security personnel not to relent in fishing out culprits by swiftly responding when alerted on imminent attack.

Fadia condemned remarks by some women protesters, who alleged that some security personnel were part of the unfortunate and protracted situation, and insisted that the military should be commended rather than blamed for the intractable crisis.

He said: “We observed with dismay that sometimes, the military promptly respond to information given them by our people only to realise the information was fake. This is counter productive and not healthy for a people that want the security agencies to nip the crisis in their domain in the bud.

“We, as SOKIPEP, note with sadness the remarks made by some women protesters recently where they reportedly linked military personnel working in the area to the crisis.

“While we are not holding brief for the military, we wish to strongly state that contrary to the position of these few, Southern Kaduna is today enjoying some relative peace because of the relentless and ceaseless efforts of the military in securing our lives. The troops are usually seen in our villages at night on patrols working with the vigilante groups.

“These unfortunate remarks by the women to say the least, is premature and capable of weakening the morale of the military but also derailing their efforts to restore peace in Southern Kaduna.

“We in SOKIPEP appreciate their rights to protest and also to express grief and emotions but we wish to state clearly that the military should not be drawn into the Southern Kaduna issue.

“Our members constitute most of the vigilante members and cut across the entire Southern Kaduna. We have been working closely with the military on patrol and sharing intelligence, which have greatly reduced the number of attacks and even casualties. We are also aware that they have prevented some attacks.”