Despite Frequent Bandit Attacks, Gov El-Rufai Claims Kaduna ‘Not As Unsafe’ As Being Reported

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has said that the state is “not as unsafe” as being reported by the media.

El-Rufai stated this on the sidelines of the sixth edition of the Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit (KADINVEST 6.0) which commenced on Thursday.

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He was responding to a question on what has been the greatest challenge his administration has faced in achieving its set goals.

During the event aired by Channels TV, El-Rufai identified lack of trust in government as the initial challenge his government faced.

He said, “The second challenge we’ve had, which emerged from 2017, is the insecurity. The rural banditry which has expanded in many ways has given investors something to be scared about.

“I mean you are here in Kaduna and you’ve spent the night and you know that it is not as unsafe as the media puts out. But one of the basic problems we face is people perceiving Kaduna to be insecure. I think our competitive advantage is in Agriculture, it means that most of the activities have to be in the rural and the semi-urban areas which are considered unsafe.”

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Meanwhile, amidst a spate of student kidnappings by bandits, the Kaduna State Government had ordered “suspension of resumption till further notice” to ensure the safety of students in schools across the state.

The state government also recently suspended the weekly Kawo market and banned livestock transportation in state due to insecurity.

On August 24, bandits reportedly infiltrated the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in the state and killed two military officers while abducting an army major.

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