By Musa A. Kazaure
The greatest nightmare of travellers or commuters on the Kaduna Abuja Highway is the Rijana- Katari- Jere, axis which I am naming as the ‘Triangle of Death’. This triangle starts from Rijana some 35 kilometers after Kaduna to Jere which is about 90 km to Abuja.
Since the reopening of Abuja International Airport in the middle of 2017, the Kaduna Abuja Highway has been under siege or blockade by the Kidnappers/Bandits who attack with reckless abandon at any hour it pleases them.
Several hundreds of people are being kidnapped apart from those who were unfortunate to be murdered in cold blood within this dreaded triangle! Describing the insecurity along this highway as a national shame.
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) had observed further with lamentation when it said “Indeed, Rijana has become a popular spot where these terrorist attacks are committed on a daily and routine basis”.
It is therefore akin to the infamous Bermuda Triangle of the Atlantic Ocean where for centuries, Ships mysteriously disappeared without trace.
The terrorists are so daring for not even sparing the Abuja Kaduna Commuter Train as the Train Truck around the same Triangle was attacked for the second time, with explosives detonated on the 20th October 2021.
It is now very apparent that this Highway which is now the gateway to the North has been the graveyard of travellers! Every sane person must be scared to fly it! The security, economic and political implications of the total takeover or blockade of this highway by Terrorists is better imagined.
The deployment of explosives to detonate the Rail trucks is the most frightening as it has exposed the nexus between those kidnappers on the Highway and those who attacked the Rail truck whose common objectives may not be unrelated to the enemies of the North who are determined to cripple it economically and politically.
Against the foregoing, one begins to wonder why is the Government not proactive in tackling this menacing insecurity along our highways? It is very unfortunate that it is still paying lip service to the protection of human lives and their properties.
Lest we forget, about 4 years ago while the Abuja International Airport was being rehabilitated, Kaduna Airport was used instead as a gateway to Nigeria. This same government was up and doing as the entire Highway was secured for Foreign Nationals! At every hour, travellers arriving or departing this Country were escorted by armed security teams on 24/7 to the Airport.
At this juncture, it is pertinent to raise some questions! Why is the Government not keen in providing a similar security cover to Nigerians commuting on this highway on 24/7? After all, no amount of effort or financial resources to be deployed, is too much in offering security and saving lives.
Apart from the fact that no amount of financial compensation or conciliatory condolences could bring back the lives of those breadwinners killed along the Highway! Could the government not be accused of adopting discriminatory policy in favour of the lives of foreigners flying the highway? Are the bandits – non state actors, too organised and more powerful than the State?
What makes this particular section – the Rijana -Jere Axis of the Kaduna- Abuja Highway, or the ‘Triangle of Death’ a more amenable or conducive environment to the Terrorists to make it their operational base? Our security forces must uncover this connection.
In spite of the likelihood of inflicting collateral damages, I am recommending the following measures for the consideration of the powers that be:-
1)That the entire forest at least 10 kilometers deep into the forests around Rigana- Katari- Jere, Triangle of Death, be burnt down and destroyed, while relocating the villages within the Triangle after profiling them, as a deliberate Scotch Earth Policy with a view to decimating the criminals! Government forces must take the War to the Kidnappers/Bandits by amongst other strategies deploying technology surveilling the highway on 24/7 in battling these Terrorists and Kidnappers!
2) Pending the completion of the rehabilitation of the Highway, Government should provide Armed Security Escorts on both sides for Commuters at an interval of each hour of the highway on 24/7. Departing points should be designated on both sides of the highway from Abuja and Kaduna end respectively.
3) Drone Surveillance on 24/7 must be mounted to cover the entire length of the Highway.
4) The Welfare of the Security men deployed to the Highway must never be taken for granted. Their commitment and fighting morale must be sustained.
5) The Rehabilitation of the Highway should be speeded up. The Kaduna Abuja Highway must be kept safe at all cost on 24/7 for commuters! It is a task the Federal Government and the concerned State Government must not compromise!
*Musa A. Kazaure write from Kano