Onuh Ladi, the secretary of the Church and Society Provincial Secretariat Kaduna, says human and food insecurity is getting worse under President Bola Tinubu’s watch.

Mr Tinubu believes his administration is winning the war against bandits, Boko Haram and other violent criminals terrorising millions of innocent Nigeria across the country.

But Mr Ladi said, “At first, it seemed like we were getting to an end of the dark days of terror by the evil people, merchants of death who held the nation by the jugular, but no, they are back. 

“They have continued to reign terror on innocent people, kidnapping, rapping and killing at will albeit unchallenged. The security situation is worsening and it is clearly moving from human security to food insecurity as well.”

Mr Ladi said the military and the security agencies had recorded some successes in some places, but a lot needs to be done to turn the tide. 

He charged those responsible for securing lives and properties to deploy all means possible, kinetic and non-kinetic, political solutions, and the involvement of all relevant attorneys to bring this menace to an end.

Other religious leaders in Kaduna said Mr Tinubu’s fight against insecurity had been successful in the president’s first year. 

The clerics stated this in separate interviews in Kaduna. The religious leaders also called for more effort to be made to achieve visible success.

John Hayab, country director of the Global Peace Foundation of Nigeria, said the fight against insecurity in Nigeria over the last year had some successes. 

However, he noted that more efforts are needed to increase the happy tempo.

Mr Hayab, ex-chairman of the Christian Association of Nigerian (CAN),  Kaduna chapter, said a lot of arrests of some notorious bandits and terrorists have been made while several others were killed.

According to him, some areas that were hitherto inaccessible due to insecurity were now accessible. 

“These successes have not stopped kidnapping for ransom and killing of innocent citizens,” said Mr Hayab. “Kudos must be given to our gallant security chiefs and their men for what they are doing, but they also need to improve their strategy and correct some wrongs going on in their system if we want to get complete success.”

Mr Hayab also mentioned that the government and security agencies must work hard to win the trust and confidence of the citizens so that people would willingly come out to “say what they see and know is  happening.”

He alleged that criminals were threatening people to be silent, saying, “because, when you open your mouth to speak, your identity will be revealed to them by bad elements among the security.”

The CAN chieftain urged the government to “motivate those men and women who are putting their lives on the line for the country with better incentives.”

“How can a security personnel put his best or give honest service to his country when he is still not able to pay his family’s bills in spite of staying away from them for months?” said Mr Hayab.

Misbahudeen Raji, the imam of Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society, Kaduna branch, said there were some pockets of improvement in addressing security challenges.

Mr Raji said more effort was needed to preserve the existing progress. He called for more dedication and proactive measures from all the security agencies to achieve more positive results.

Mr Raji said that intelligence reports need to be gathered and used promptly to make Nigeria more secure. He added that sincere collaborative efforts among the security agencies and the authorities would also help achieve positive results.

(NAN)