Rigasa: Where kidnappers lay siege

The long, lonely tarred road from Kaduna’s railway station in Rigasa to the state’s international airport may be the fastest route for anyone hoping to beat the city’s congested traffic. But the road which is popularly referred to as the airport link road has become one of the deadliest spots for travellers at night. The […]

The long, lonely tarred road from Kaduna’s railway station in Rigasa to the state’s international airport may be the fastest route for anyone hoping to beat the city’s congested traffic. But the road which is popularly referred to as the airport link road has become one of the deadliest spots for travellers at night.

The over five kilometers straight road, laced with well structured street lights also boasts of tall trees and sand hills that have made it a notorious  lair for kidnappers and other criminals.

Daily Trust on Sunday reports that the tarred road which provides a shorter distance for travellers going to Mando and the Kaduna International airport came into existence less than three years ago, on the heels of the closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja for six weeks. The closure was to allow a repair work on the Abuja runway in which the Kaduna international airport ultimately served as the alternate airport.

But the link road in Rigasa soon became an attractive spot for criminals who target mostly commuters from Abuja who use the train station in a bid to escape the many security complications that characterize the Abuja-Kaduna highway.

Two weeks ago, Daily Trust reported that on the same road, suspected gunmen allegedly attacked vehicles conveying travellers who had returned from Abuja, and were heading to their various destinations. The incident which occurred on Saturday, January 26 at about 8:15 pm had occurred a day after gunmen carried out a similar operation on the same spot along the road. The two attacks had immediately sent panic among travellers who plied the route especially at night.

“Several vehicles had made a U-turn on hearing the gunshots. Some returned to the train station while others took the popular, and ever busy longer Rigasa route into the city,” said Ibrahim Musa, who works at a nearby motor park.

Although the Kaduna State Police command had denied the two attacks, the last attack on Saturday could not go unnoticed because two women were allegedly abducted by the bandits.

Musa, a resident of Karshen Kwalta in Rigasa said: “After the two attacks on the travellers, the government deployed more soldiers to patrol the road. They also ordered the cutting down of trees along the road which in the past served as hide outs for the gunmen at night. Also, security vans now patrol the road every night which gives us confidence because this is where we do our business.”

On a visit to the area, our reporters observed that children within neighbouring communities have found use for the branches of felled trees. Pilling the smaller branches and logs together, they arranged them on wheelbarrows for onward treks to their communities.

The security fears however seemed to have dwindled at the time our correspondents visited the area. The lonely route was suddenly busy with more vehicular activities as well as activities of government sponsored lumberjacks and men of the Kaduna State Vigilance Service.

Our correspondents gathered that after the two attacks, the state government, working with security agencies took measures to increase security presence, mostly soldiers to the area. Ibrahim Musa said an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) was stationed along the road every night while a security vehicle with additional driving lights now patrol the area at night.

However, in a lone Fulani settlement, partly shielded by a sand hill, our correspondents met 33-year-old Aminu who volunteered to guide journalists to an elder in the community. But on meeting his absence, the responsibility to speak fell upon Aminu whose tacit reluctance immediately became glaring.

After much of cajoling, Aminu opened up on the security concerns in the area and how people in his settlement are constantly barraged by the sound of gunshots. For the people in the settlement, sounds of gunshots at night were routine. He was uncertain as to whether the gunshots came from the bandits or security agents, they had resolved to stay put in their settlements during such nightly commotions.

“Yes, we heard gunshots a few days ago,” Aminu responded to the last attack in the area. “But we thought it was the soldiers stationed around the area that were firing the shots because nobody said anything to us. We however observed that motorist had stopped plying the road at night,” he said.

He expressed concern at the deteriorating security challenges in the area, adding that: “we are now living in fear because we have been living here for many years. In fact, I was born in this settlement but as you can see all of our cattle have been stolen by the bandits. Can you imagine a Fulani settlement without cows? We have now resorted to farming.”

Pointing at a deserted settlement less than a kilometer referred to as Rugar Boka, Aminu said the youths in the settlement had moved to Falgore forest for reasons he could not explain. “They left last year and all that is left is now the dilapidated structures of their home,” he said.

Another Fulani elder in the community said; “We are all concerned with the insecurity around this road. Even before the road, there had been security challenges only that there is nothing we can do than to allow the security agencies handle the situation.”

The State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Yakubu Sabo, while speaking on the new security measures, said the command has so far overcome the security challenges witnessed along the link road two weeks ago.

DSP Sabo said the police had taken the fight to the bandits by raiding many settlements and villages suspected to be harbouring them in the area.

He also solicited for more support and cooperation from people living around the area, adding that: “they need to always provide adequate information of suspected movements of criminals living around them.”