A coalition of civil society groups in Kaduna has called on locals to provide genuine and credible information to the troops deployed to the area, while also urging that false information and allegations against Military on attacks are counterproductive.
The coalition under the aegis of Southern Kaduna Indigenous Peace Practitioners (SOKIPEP) said the military can bring the pockets of attacks in the area to an end if, among other things, credible information is promptly provided.
They insisted that it was time for the people to rise to the occasion and support the military and security agencies no bring a lasting halt to the mindless killings in the southern part of the state.
In a statement issued by the Convener of SOKIPEP, Rev Dauda Fadia, he observed that the inability of the troops to respond on time to some of the attacks witnessed in recent past in the area were attributable to the many false and non-credible information to the military which it noted, had made troops to dissipate their efforts in different directions as well as delayed the response to some actual attacks.
“We observed with dismay that sometimes, the military promptly responds to information given to them by our people only to realize the information is unfounded. This is counterproductive”.
Even as it condemned the remarks by some women protesters allegedly linking the military in the unfortunate and protracted situation, the group insisted that the military is doing a lot and should be encouraged rather than blaming them for the once intractable crisis.
“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.
The group also explained that it’s it members who are mostly Southern Kaduna vigilante members are working closely with the security outfits on patrol and intelligence gathering in the area.
“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”.
“The troops are cooperating with us and I think we should support them to succeed instead of demoralizing them through our negative statements and false allegations. We have the right to demand improved security and right to life but we must do that with the fear of God.”
While commending the military for the arrest of some suspected perpetrators of these inhuman acts, they called for a parade and subsequent handover of the suspects to the police for necessary action.
The group called on the Southern Kaduna people to cooperate with security personnel so that together the crisis in the area can be nipped in the bud.
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