Kaduna state curfew relaxed, airlines, NRC begged to resume operations

The Kaduna State Government has relaxed the 24-hour-curfew imposed on the metropolis and its environs in the wake of the tension generated by the killing of the Agom Adara, Dr Maiwada Galadima, by suspected kidnappers.

A government statement through the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the state govenor, Mr Samuel Aruwan, on Sunday, said the curfew would now commence from  dusk to dawn(5pm to 6am) as against the 24-hour period.

Tension mounted as the news of the murder of the paramount  ruler of Adara filtered into the state capital on Friday morning.

The chief with his wife were abducted penultimate Friday while a police orderly and three palace guards attached to the traditional ruler were killed.

Two days later, the wife was released while the kidnappers held her husband.

However, six days later, the Agom Adara was killed and his corpse dumped near the bush along the Kaduna-Abuja highway at Kateri.

The body was taken to the St. Gerard’s Catholic Hospital, Kakuri in the state capital, forcing the government to reinstate the curfew earlier imposed on the state.

The governor’s spokesman, who said the review of the curfew was with immediate effect, requested that airlines and the Nigerian Railway Corporation should “promptly resume services to Kaduna State.”

It said residents were free as from 5pm today, Sunday, 28th October 2018 to pursue their legitimate activities unhindered.

The statement reads, “The Kaduna State Government has relaxed the curfew in Kaduna metropolis and environs with immediate effect. Residents are free to pursue their legitimate activities from now till 5pm today, Sunday, 28th October 2018.

“From tomorrow, Monday, 29th October 2018, the curfew is relaxed from 6am to 5pm, daily. Residents of Kaduna metropolis, Kasuwan Magani, Kajuru, and Kateri now join the people of Kachi in having free movement during daytime hours.

 “Banks and markets are expected to reopen and deliver services as usual. The Kaduna State Government has also requested the airlines and the Nigerian Railway Corporation to promptly resume normal services to Kaduna.”

 Meanwhile, the Arewa Consultative Forum on Sunday condemned the brutal murder of the Agom Adara by suspected kidnappers in Kaduna State.

The northern body described the killing as unfortunate, especially at a time normalcy was returning to the state in the wake of the communal clash in Kasuwan Magani.

It called on the Federal Government and the state government to institute a high-powered commission of inquiry to unearth the circumstances surrounding the killings across the land.

The ACF, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim-Biu, also called on the security agencies and the state, to strengthen its intelligence dragnet to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators of the heinous acts.

The statement read in part, “The Arewa Consultative Forum is shocked, grieved and sad with the news of the gruesome murder of Agom Adara.

“This cruel act of the abductors was barbaric, despicable and offends the tenets of all religions and common decency. It is therefore condemned by all peace-loving people across the globe.

“The ACF once more calls upon the security agencies and the Kaduna State Government to strengthen its intelligence network and track down the perpetrators of the gruesome murder of the Agom Adara and many other innocent persons that were abducted and killed by these criminals and ensure that they are brought to book.

“We urge the government to not only strengthen its peace building process but also sustain it in order to ensure durable peace in the state.”

PUNCH