The United Nations’ country director, Edward Kallon has lamented the spate of killings in Nigeria. Citing the government’s statistics, Kallon noted that over 1,400 people have lost their lives in different parts of the country as a result of kidnapping and banditry within a period of six months.
He disclosed this in Makurdi, the Benue state capital at a meeting with Governor Samuel Ortom. According to him, killings by armed herdsmen and bandits outweigh killings by the Boko Haram terrorist in the country.
“The last statistics I saw from the government was that over 1,400 people were killed as a result of kidnapping and banditry since the elections. This is not a pleasant statistics,” he said. According to him, banditry, killings and kidnappings claiming the lives of Nigerians are as a result of the institutional failure at all levels of governance.
“We all know the statistics and the menace of herders/farmers problems. There were more people killed by the herders and farmers crisis than the Boko Haram crisis in Nigeria. “When I said this in Abuja, it was not being welcomed but that was one statistics we have. These are all due to weak institutions and governance deficit at the federal, state and local level,” Kallon said.
He consequently urged government to take issue of security seriously.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that six bandits detained by security agencies have been released by the Katsina state government as part of a peace deal with bandits terrorising eight local government areas in the state.
Governor Aminu Masari recalled during the handover of the six bandits that for the last one week, he and security chiefs had been visiting the areas that shared borders with Rugu forests, which served as hideout for the bandits.