Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has expressed his readiness to shut down communication networks, as part of measures to tackle the menace of insecurity bedevilling the state.
Speaking with some select radio stations in the state on Tuesday night, Mr El-Rufai disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari had granted the state approval to suspend mobile networks in some parts of the state.
“I want the people of Kaduna to know, if I get the signal tomorrow (Wednesday) to shut down, we will shut down networks,” he said.
Mr El-Rufai noted that kidnappers and other perpetrators of high profile crime rely heavily on the GSM network to perpetuate their illicit acts, saying, “we can see anytime they kidnap a victim they make use of calls to contact the families and relatives of the victim.”
However, he added that the areas that will be affected are those areas where the crimes are being perpetrated as well as those areas sharing borders with Zamfara and Katsina States where the current onslaught against the bandits is being carried out.
According to him, security reports have indicated that because of the ongoing military operations in Zamfara and Katsina States, bandits are now crossing over to some areas in the state for safety.
The governor noted that it was because of this that the security agencies advised the state government to shut down some networks in the affected local government areas.
“I will not mention the names of the Local Government areas. But the areas where the bandits have been terrorising in recent times are known to everyone,” he declared.
“So as soon as we are given the go-ahead by the military authorities, we will not hesitate to comply. I want people to know and give the security agencies the maximum support,” he asserted.
