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The recent attack on Gwaska community in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State demonstrates the rising general insecurity in the country. According to reports, armed bandits attacked the community on May 5 and killed several people and left many others injured. It is unfortunate that the attack happened less than 24 hours after security chiefs including the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris and GOC 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Mohammed Mohammed, visited Birnin Gwari.
President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the unfortunate loss of lives and ordered the posting of a new Battalion of the Nigerian Army and a new Police Area Command to the beleaguered community. The presidential directives have since been carried out and some security chiefs, including the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen T.Y. Burutai, have visited security agents in the area.
Even though the current administration has been criticised severally for not acting promptly to security challenges in the past, we are happy to note that the response this time has been different. The rising insecurity in the country is a threat to our continued existence as a country and it must be checked before it escalates to unmanageable proportion.
An eyewitness account revealed that the bandits were heavily armed with sophisticated weapons. This revelation may not be entirely new, but it is nonetheless very instructive. All the same, we strongly condemn the unfortunate loss of lives in the heinous attack. It would appear that the government and all other stakeholders have been treating the nation’s worsening security with kid gloves and in the process have allowed it to fester.
No doubt,this is why the country must watch it very closely. The security agencies must see the worsening security, especially in the North-Central geo-political zone and other states as a real challenge and rise to the occasion forthwith. That is why we wholeheartedly endorse the charge that Burutai gave to the troops that they must take the battle to the enemy and with immediate dispatch too. This is why General Burutai said that henceforth, the field commanders would take responsibility for any security reverses in their areas of operation.
This new resolve should not be restricted to Birnin Gwari alone but should be extended across the nation. But before this charge should be implemented, the troops must be well equipped for the task ahead.
There is no fact that Nigerians, especially those in the besieged communities, have suffered untold hardship and colossal losses in terms of lives and property, and it is high time our security forces and governments at all levels woke up to their responsibilities. The security of lives and property remain the number one responsibility of government and everything must be done to achieve this.
We are particularly saddened by the fact that Kaduna which has served for a long time as the political capital of the old Northern Region is presently enthralled in this security mess. Just as we were beginning to believe that the worst was over with the hitherto intractable security situation in Southern Kaduna, the Gwaska incident was an ugly reminder of recent past.
The security agents must apprehend those responsible for the attack and bring them to justice. The Federal Government must rise to the challenge of increasing insecurity and readily put in place adequate measures to avert further killings across the country.
