Rigasa: Gunmen’s new ‘ground zero’

Rigasa is arguably the largest settlement in Kaduna metropolis. It is also believed to be the largest Ward in northern Nigeria as the settlement is bigger than many local government headquaters in the country both in size and in population, findings revealed. Located in Igabi local government area of Kaduna State, Rigasa was founded about […]

Rigasa is arguably the largest settlement in Kaduna metropolis. It is also believed to be the largest Ward in northern Nigeria as the settlement is bigger than many local government headquaters in the country both in size and in population, findings revealed.

Located in Igabi local government area of Kaduna State, Rigasa was founded about 50 years ago by some settlers from Afaka, an ancient Zaria community.The population of Rigasa has experienced tremendous growth in especially the last twenty years,but the area is lacking the corresponding infrastructure and amenities for the wellbeing of the people.

The numerous developmental problems that characterised the area forced residents to become vocals by, at least, expressing their grievances over absence of government in the area in almost all local phone-in programmes aired by Radio and Television stations in Kaduna and even neighbouring states.

On the other hand, the population of the area made it prone to crime. The fact that most residents of the area are settlers from other parts of Kaduna and beyond; makes it easy for criminals to perpetrate crimes in the area without being traced. The indigenous residents of the area, Byaggi, are now relegated to the outskirts of the town because they are not up to three percent of the area’s population.

One aspect that makes control of crime in Rigasa to be very difficult is inadequate police manpower and other security personnel in the area. According to the Sarkin Arewan Rigasa, Alhaji Magaji Yahaya Muhammadu, Rigasa has only one police division.

“From here you would agree with me that a single police division is grossly inadequate for a place like Rigasa. Apart from that police division, we don’t have any other police station, even in the form of outpost. To my own understanding, this issue of under-policing is aiding the increase of crime rate in the area,” Alhaji Muhammadu said.

Investigation by Weekly Trust revealed that the police division in Rigasa proffered a way out for the residents that want the presence of police in their areas. The police accept to post two or three of its men to the areas that provide shops or buildings to be used as police posts.

“That was the arrangement we have with the police. This is why anywhere you see the presence of police, apart from the police division; you would see them in a shop. Some residents who feel they need the presence of police, volunteered their shops,” a resident, who preferred anonymity, said.

Prior to the recent killings, an episode that attracted attention of government and people from different parts of the countryto Rigasa area was when early last year President Goodluck Jonathan was forced to abandon the official commissioning of the Kaduna-Abuja railway line project.

President Jonathan was scheduled to arrive the outskirt of Rigasa on a chopper to commission the rail line project but the event was put off on security grounds. According to reports, the security details of the President had received an intelligence that some residents of Rigasa had planned to attack the President and his entourage to express their grievance over the failure of government to improve their lots and that of their town. The residents, according to our findings, had on the eve of the President’s visit “decorated” the whole town with the campaign posters of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and its 2011 elections presidential candidate.

That development, investigation revealed, forced the President and the Kaduna State government to shelve the planned commissioning “as they sensed that all may not be well when the President visits the area. They therefore felt that going ahead with the visit might have resulted to chaos,”said an ananymous resident.

Since that incident Rigasa became very popular not only in Kaduna but nationally. And that had forced the Kaduna State government to consider erecting projects that would improve the lives of the residents, checks revealed. One of such projects was the Hayin Danmani-Rigasa road, which is about to be completed.

However, going round Rigasa town would, yet, provide the visitor the opportunity of appreciating the underdevelopment that dots the town on the face as well as the poverty level of the residents.

On the other hand, the recent serial killings, once again, rekindled the issue of security challenges facing the town.

The series of the killings began on Sunday, April 1, 2012,with the murder of an Assistant Superintendentof Police (ASP), Salisu Ahmad, and a lecturer in the Languages Department of the Kaduna Polytechnic, Muhammad Abdulsalam Abubakar. Unknown gunmen stormed Rigasa in the night and killed the two men.

Investigation revealed that ASP Ahmad was gunned down in his seating room at Danmadami Street shortly after he returned from work while the lecturer was killed at about 8.55pm in his residence at Karshen Kwalta of the Rigasa area.

It was also revealed that the gunmen came to the area on a motorcycle and one of them went inside the house of ASP Ahmad, mocked him; saying “you are under arrest” and finally gunned him down.

It was also gathered that lecturer Abubakarwas shot on the neck and was immediately rushed to Shehu Kangiwa Medical Centre in Kaduna Polytechnic, where he eventually passed on. Abubakar, according to findings, might have been killed in error. Residents said he was mistaken by the daredevil gunmen as the Divisional Police Officer of Rigasa because he used the same type of car with the DPO.

The April 1 episode was closely followed by the murder of a prominent resident and  petroleum dealer, Alhaji Kabiru Kamu Oil, the owner of KAMU Oil in the Rigasa area. Though Alhaji Kabiru was not killed in Rigasa, but being a prominent personality of the area, his murder was associated with the security problems facing Rigasa.

Alhaji Kabiru was killed on Friday, April 6, at Gwamna Road in the metropolis at about 8:30pm. Checks revealed that Alhaji Kabiru was killed when he called a lass that he wanted to marry. The gunmen, after firing several shots at Alhaji Kabiru, stole his car, leaving him writhing in the pool of his own blood.

Before the residents of Rigasa overcame the shocking death of Alhaji Kabiru, the gunmen unleashed another terror by killing a 22-year-old resident of the area onWednesday, April 11.

The murder, which took place at about 2pm, astounded the residents of the Makarfi Road/Makera area of Rigasa, where the deceased lived, because it was done in a broad daylight. The youngster, according to findings, was mistaken as security personnel as he was wearing a military uniform when he was murdered.

The last of these series of killings and shootings in Rigasa took place on Saturday, April 14 when gunmen, in their usual style, stormed the area and shot a police detective, popularly known as Alhaji Buwaya.

Alhaji Buwaya was shot few metres away from his residence in Taro-Taro Abuja Road in the Rigasa area. The police officer, unlike the rest, was, however, lucky to escape with gunshot injuries, only.

As it is the convention in the Nigerian security system, the series of killings prompted security personnel, especially soldiers and the police, to embark on frequent surveillance on the area. The frequent visits of the armed soldiers and the police led to what the residents described as indiscriminate arrests, molestation and infringement on their rights.

Some residents of the area confided on Weekly Trust that within a span of two weeks, more than 100 youths and motorcyclists residing in Rigasa were whisked away by the police and soldiers sent there on patrol.

“Every evening they come here and begin to arrest people. We have told them that those who perpetrate that devilish act are not residents of Rigasa but people who come from outside the area in order to tarnish our image and spoil the name of our town,” a resident expressed the dilemma that the people of Rigasa find themselves in. “But we have decided to, henceforth, apprehend any person that come with gun to kill in Rigasa because he can’t kill all of us before we apprehend him. This is the resolution we have taken in a meeting of Rigasa residents.”

However, another prominent resident of the area, Shehu Ahmadu Tijjani, alias SS Barazana, said while the residents volunteered to help in fishing out the perpetrators of crime in the area, government should reciprocate by proffering solutions to the numerous developmental problems that are bedevilling the area, especially youths unemployment.

“It is annoying how most government officials make fake promises on issues that have to do with our welfare. If you go round Rigasa, you would find that erosion is threatening us. Not even that, ordinary drainages that can be handled by the local government are now problem in Rigasa. In my view, all these issues need to be addressed by the government,” SS Barazana said.

For Mai Unguwa Iliyasu Mai Danmangwro, a ward head, whose area records three of the serial killing and shooting, the insecurity challenges facing Rigasa would soon become history.

“To be frank with you, residents of Rigasa can never be involved in killings because most of our people are gainfully employed. Most of our residents are businessmen and scholars. Those committing these crimes are only jealous of our town but we have decided to find a solution to the problem in collaboration with security agencies.

“We want to appeal to the government to construct more roads for us. There is need for the government to increase police presence in Rigasa because the whole area has only one Police Division. The government also needs to build industries for our youths to have means of earning a living,” Mai Danmangwaro said.

The residents of the 13 boroughs of Rigasa; Unguwan Zage-Zage, Rigasa/Makera, Sabon Garin Rigasa, Danmani, Rigasa ta Arewa, Rigasa ta Kudu, Nariya, Malamawa (Maguzawa), Kwate, Kakora, Mahuta, Mai Giginya and Hayin Danmani, have decided to take the bull by the horn. It is only time that would tell whether their resolve to fight crime in the area would yield positive result.