12 Residents, motorists raise alarm over ‘dark, dangerous’ road to Kaduna airport
Communities, motorists and other commuters plying the road to and from the Kaduna airport say they are constantly afraid for their safety.
reports that the road has been a hotspot for kidnappers and bandits who take advantage of the quietness and poor security, especially at night, to strike.
In the recent past, a rapid rise of kidnapping in Kaduna proved a strong threat to security, adversely affecting the image of the state nationwide. While efforts by the police, army and other security agencies have helped a great deal to lessen the problem, the road leading to the airport, after the Mando/New Afaka area remains a source of concern.
February 2018, an employee of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Inusa Magaji, was kidnapped along the road at about 7:00pm. He was released after paying N500,000 ransom which he negotiated from the initial N2 million demanded.
Then in June, two persons were kidnapped along the Kaduna International Airport road, a stone’s throw from the Nigerian Defence Academy. One of them had gone to pick the other, his sister, from the airport at 8pm.
The NDA, situated in New Afaka, is also on the way to the airport, and the military institution has also had an officer cadet targeted by kidnappers in a recent incident which occurred mere days before the recent passing-out parade.
Some villages along the road have been deserted, for fear of kidnappers. Once dotted by many lush farms, a number of them have become eyesores, abandoned by once-thriving farmers out of fear of kidnappers and bandits.
observed the presence of security personnel at about three locations from the Kaduna airport through Mando, as well as the railway station. However, residents said patrols are not frequent, especially after dark, the time of choice for the criminals to operate. This is worsened by the pitch-darkness along the road, as solar security lights installed as security measures to brighten up the area have been vandalized.
Though some residents say there has not been any case of kidnapping in the area in the last four months, some say it is possible incidents have gone unreported due to the modus operandi of the criminals.
Malam Surajo Yakubu, of Maguzawa Mai Giginya community along the road, said security is gradually returning to the area. “The kidnappers used to strike at any time. Most of us had to sell our livestock to pay ransoms for the release of family members,” he said.
A commercial driver who plies the road regularly, Mamman (not real name), said: “Before, when I pick passengers from the airport at night, we’d have to wait to be escorted. I remember there was a time when a couple refused to wait for the police escort. They went on by themselves and in the end, they were kidnapped.” He also commended the deployment of security personnel.
Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Yakubu Sabo, assured that adequate security measures have been put in place. “There has been massive deployment of teams of policemen in the area who have been mandated to give the area 24-hour coverage and for every kilometre, a police team is standing watch,” he added.
But checks during the day, and the evening about 9:00pm, showed only three points where policemen in Hilux trucks are stationed. One right after the airport gate, one just before the NDA’s main gate, and the last one at the roundabout, that’s going to the metropolis from the airport. No vehicles were seen patrolling, either.
DSP Sabo also said there is an escort vehicle for passengers that arrive at night to ensure that there is no threat, and passengers spoken to confirmed that.
Umar Hassan, a trader at Mando who lives near the airport, says the darkness, and the potential danger of the road, have affected his business. “I have to close my shop and go home by 6:00pm for safety. And the evenings is when I make more sales, so I’m not happy. The only person happy is my wife, since I come home earlier now,” he said.