The Kaduna State Government government has announced the suspension of weekly markets in five local government areas of Birnin Gwari, Chikun, Giwa, Igabi and Kajuru following the spate of insecurity in the state.
The state also banned the sale of petroleum products in jerry cans or any other containers in five local government areas which have seen a surge in banditry and kidnapping.
The state Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, disclosed this in a statement in the state capital on Monday.
The statement reads, “After a thorough review of the security situation and recommendations put forward by the security agencies, the Kaduna State Government wishes to announce the suspension of all weekly markets in Birnin Gwari, Igabi, Giwa, Chikun and Kajuru local government areas with immediate effect.
“The government has also banned the selling of petrol in jerry cans within and outside the premises of petrol stations in the five local government areas with immediate effect.
“The Kaduna State Security Operations Room remains open for receiving useful information on the following lines: 09034000060, 08170189999.”
The move by the Kaduna State Government is coming a few months after neighbouring Zamfara State criminalized the sale of petroleum products in jerry cans or any other containers.
According to the government, this will help to curb the activities of black marketers linked to bandits in the state.
The Zamfara Commissioner of Information, Ibrahim Dosara who disclosed this, said only vehicles should be attended to at petrol stations.
Kaduna, Zamfara and other states in the North-West and North-Central have been caught up in a surge in violence from heavily armed criminal gangs who loot villages, steal cattle and carry out mass kidnappings.
The violence has its roots in years-long tensions and tit-for-tat raids between farmers and nomadic herders over grazing land and water resources.
The criminal gangs, also known as bandits, often attack in large numbers and arrive on motorbikes.
Typically motivated by financial gain, they have been targeting schools and colleges, kidnapping students and pupils for ransom.
The armed forces have carried out operations and airstrikes on their camps, which are hidden deep in the forests that span Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina and Niger States, but violence has escalated.
In July, the Air Force said bandits had shot down one of its jets as it was carrying out operations in Zamfara State. The pilot ejected and escaped.
President Muhammadu Buhari, a former soldier first elected in 2015, has warned paying ransoms will provoke more kidnappings. Some local governors have tried to negotiate amnesty deals to stop the attacks, though those accords have mostly failed.
