Insecurity: Banditry Hampering Progress Of The North – Arewa Forum

• The forum lamented government indifference to the plight of abducted Kaduna students

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has bemoaned the devastating effect of banditry on the north , saying the menace is sabotaging the growth and progress of the region.

The region has been ravaged by myriad of criminal activities and series of attacks in the past months.

In a communique issued on Thursday at the end of its executive meeting in Kaduna, the forum said the activities of bandits, kidnappers and insurgents are a setback to the northern region.

Audu Ogbe, a former minister of agriculture, presided over the meeting.

“On insecurity, the forum expressed displeasure at the state of affairs in the north and in the country in general,” reads the communique signed by Emmanuel Yawe, spokesman of the forum.

“The forum condemned the activities of insurgents, kidnappers and bandits in the north, saying that their activities are killing the peace and progress for which the north was noted for when the founders of the region were in power.

“The forum decried the utterances of some actors and leaders who have sought to inflame regional, ethnic, and religious passions out of the current situation in the country.

“The forum called on Nigerian leaders to exercise restraint in their utterances in the current circumstances.”

ACF said it was briefed by parents of the kidnapped students of Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, Kaduna, who were abducted by suspected bandits in March.

The forum said it regretted that some of the kidnapped students remained in captivity, while the government had not done much to get them released.

ACF said it has agreed to take up their plight with the state and federal governments.

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