I relocated to Kaduna about 18 months ago. The part of Kaduna that I reside is Mando, where the Nigerian Defence Academy is located. The presence of this institution makes the area prone to attack by bandits.
The bandit always sees attacking such a military formation or its environment as a spit on the government. For them to do that successfully requires a lot of risk on their own side and each time they do that, they blow their trumpet as though they have defeated the government.
Few months before I joined the Academy, the bandits successfully breached the security of the institution and attacked the officers' quarters. They kidnapped two of the officers and killed one. This made the government to wake up and some security measures were put in place to avoid reoccurrence. With the present arrangement, the Academy has fortified itself against such an aggression.
Like I said, the bandits also attack other parts of the town to prove that they are around. This is where the fear among the residents emanated.
Just a few months ago, a house was attacked in my vicinity by the bandits. A pregnant woman and three others were kidnapped for ransom. The family of the pregnant woman were devastated just like I was about such a level of cruelty.
They spent four months in captivity before the family could raise the ransom for their release. By the time they were released, the woman had already delivered her baby in captivity. She narrated the hell they went through. Fortunately, she and her baby came out alive with the three others.
This kind of issue made everyone in my vicinity be mindful of how they stay up late at night.
On my own part, I don't stay outside my house beyond 8 PM. People are living under the fear of an impending attack but the security personnel are trying their best to boost the confidence of the people in living without fear.
Another tactic employed by kidnappers in adopting people, especially children, is by stopping a child and asking him or her to show them the direction to a place. The kidnappers would remain seated in their car and after attempts by the child to describe the place for them, they request the child to enter the vehicle and take them to the said place rather. Once the child enters the vehicle, they would apply some charms and the child would lose his memory.
A case of such happened recently and when the child miraculously escaped, he found himself in Kano. A child that was kidnapped in Kaduna. This has made parents and community leaders warn not just children but some unsuspecting adults to be mindful of who they render assistance to.
Away from these external threats, there are burglars whose habit is to burgle into people's shops and homes to steal. Their normal time is between 3 AM and 5 AM. People are mostly into a deep sleep during this period.
My compound contains four apartments and there is a man in one of the apartments that was having a motorcycle. Since the removal of fuel subsidies that made the pump price of PMS skyrocket, many Nigerians have been using motorcycles instead of cars. The increase in demand for it makes it not safe in the hands of thieves. A few days ago, some thieves jumped over the fence of my compound to steal my neighbor's motorcycle. It happened around 4 AM.
Another neighbor of mine lost his laptop to burglars a few weeks ago. He plugged it to the power source at close proximity to his window. At about 5 AM when he went to the mosque to pray, the burglars came in and within a few minutes, his window was spoiled and the laptop removed through the burglary proof. Because of this, I don't charge my phone close to the window, especially in the sitting room.
I have decided not to renew my rent in my present place. I am going for a more secured place against external threats and burglars.
