Kidnapping: Police beef up security along Kaduna-Abuja Highway
5-year-old Halima Mohammed in the ancient town of Zungeru, Wushishi Local Government Area of Niger State, has set out in search of her missing father, Mallam Samaila Dan-Fulani or his relatives.
After secondary school, her biggest dream at the moment is not to further her education but to find her father, who reportedly abandoned her mother while she was three years old. Halima wants to see her father before she gets married.
The picture Halima’s mother shared with Daily Trust on Sunay captures the last moments they shared with the father when she was two years old. Halima said she wanted to find any of her father’s relative so that she would unite with her family and prove to the world that she is not an illegitimate child.
She said one of her friends once stigmatised her, saying she did not have anyone she could call her relative from her father’s side, and because of that, she should not talk when people who had relatives were talking.
“I have grown up without knowing my father. If I were told that he had died, that’s understandable, but the only thing my mother told me about him was that he left home while I was two years old. I have only seen him on photo. I have asked my mother about his relatives but she told me that she never knew or met any member of his family. I want to at least know his relatives so that from time to time I will visit them, even if my father is not found. My mother told me that he is a Fulani man from Bauchi State,” she said.
She said her education responsibility had been shouldered by her brother, who her mother got from her late husband before she got married to her father.
The Nigeria Police have beefed up security along the Kaduna-Abuja highway and other places over the increasing spate of kidnapping and other crimes.
This followed the abduction of travellers last week, during which bandits were reported to have engaged security forces on the highway at night around Dogon Fili, near Kateri village.
According to the police, six persons were injured in a crossfire between the bandits and security agencies that night.
The commissioner of police in Kaduna State, Audu.D. Ali, had on January 14, 2024, few days after the incident, embarked on an official confidence building and security assessment tour of the highway following Inspector-General of Police Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun’s directive to improve security on the road.
Daily Trust Saturday gathered that CP Ali visited security operatives’ duty posts, with special interest given to all flashpoints, including Kurmin Kare, Gidan Busa and Akilbu.
Ali tasked officers and men of the police to redouble their efforts, be vigilant but eschew all forms of misconduct while on duty.
He also interfaced with communities along the expressway and solicited for their cooperation, especially in the area of credible information regarding the activities of men of the underworld.
Similarly, the sector commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps in Kaduna State, Kabiru Yusuf Nadabo, said they had raised concern over the surge in night journeys, which he added contributed to accidents on the highway.
“Our major challenge now is how to curtail night journeys. We have decided to start using mobile court to force people comply to traffic rules and regulations on the highway, especially at Kakau and Rigachikun tollgates,” he said.
He said most fatal accidents witnessed in the state that claimed many lives happened at night; hence the need to urge drivers to avoid night journeys, especially on the KadunaAbuja highway..
A community leader from Kateri, Makeri Danjuma (JP), praised the substantial security enhancement along the highway, including increased military presence.
“I am pleased to say, without mincing words, that for months there has been a significant improvement on security along the highway. Commuters must have noticed military personnel on the highway. This will curb incidents of banditry along the road and boost motorists’ and commuters’ confidence,” he said.
Mai Angwa Barde, another community leader near Audu Jamgwam village, said there was the need to complete the remaining sections of the highway to discourage risky single-lane driving.
A driver identified only as Bally, who plies the Kaduna-Abuja highway from Television Garage, acknowledged the improved security but expressed concern over potholes between Abuja
and the Olam Farm axis.
“Our only challenge now is from Abuja to Olam Farm due to potholes; security has improved.
Asked if drivers still plied the road at night he said, “In fact I just left Kaduna at night and I am now in Abuja.”
Commuters also attested to the newfound peace of mind on the highway.
Aliyu Suleiman, a civil servant, lauded the presence of security personnel at every 10 kilometers.
“This gave me rest of mind throughout the journey. I felt happy seeing the soldiers in their tents by the roadside. I think the government has done a good job on that,” he said.
Another traveller, Bello Musa, concurred on improved security but said there was the need to urgently complete work on the road, particularly sections from Katari to Abuja.
The Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs in Kaduna State, Samuel Aruwan told Daily Trust Saturday that cooperation among security agencies played a crucial role in restoring safety on the highway.
“Everybody is involved. From January 1 to December 31, 2023, there was no incident on the two lanes of the Kaduna-Abuja highway, spanning three local government areas - Kachia, Chikun and Kagarko. No passenger or driver was kidnapped on that road during this period,” he said.
He said the state government and security agencies would sustain the tempo to ensure that the road remains safe.