Killings: IGP deploys forces as Kaduna declares curfew

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ibrahim Idris has deployed the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 7 to lead a special investigation team to Kaduna State, following the killing of 55 persons in Kasuwar Magani.

The special team comprises four units of Police Mobile Force (PMF), specially trained riot policemen, the Counter-Terrorism Unit, conventional policemen, the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), the Technical Intelligence Unit (TIU), the State Intelligence Bureau (SIB), a detachment of EOD and Police K9.

Members of the team will work with the Kaduna State Police Command to ensure that peace is restored and sustained in the area and its environs.

A statement yesterday in Abuja, the nation’s capital, by the Force spokesman Jimoh Moshood, an Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police (Ag. DCP), reads: “Concerned with the unfortunate attack and killings of 55 innocent people, mayhem and the resultant disturbance of public peace that occurred in Kasuwar Magani, Kajuru, Kaduna State on October 18, which also resulted in destruction of property valued at millions of naira and the need to end this crisis, IGP Ibrahim K. Idris has deployed the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Zone 7 headquarters in charge of Kaduna, Niger states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to lead the Police Special Intervention Force.

“The operations will cover the entire Kasuwar Magani and environs and other flash spots in Kaduna State.

“The Police Special Intervention Forces will be working in synergy with the Kaduna State Police Command to ensure that peace and normalcy are restored and sustained in Kasuwar Magani and its environs.

“To achieve success in the operations, the Force will be proactive and strict in the enforcement of its mandates, police standard operations procedures and rules of engagement.

“The Force will ensure the full enforcement of the curfew imposed on Kasuwar Magani and environs by the Kaduna State government.”

The police also said their team will carry out 24-hour surveillance and patrol, stop-and-search; continuous raids of identified criminal hideouts and black spots with a view to arresting trouble makers, their sponsors and nip in the bud any further attempt to cause violence and other criminality in the area.

The deployment, the police said, will cover communities, towns, villages, vulnerable points, government and private infrastructure and facilities in Kasuwar Magani, Kajuru Local Government Area and its environs.

The police urged traditional rulers, religious leaders, public office holders, politicians, opinion leaders, and other members of the community to support the team.

The Kaduna State government yesterday declared a 24-hour curfew on Kaduna and its environs to forestall a breakdown of law and order.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Samuel Aruwan, said: “A 24-hour curfew has been imposed on Kaduna town and its environs. It is with immediate effect.”