The Southern and Middle Belt Leadership Forum, SMBLF, has called for punitive measures against the Kaduna state commissioner of police, Mohammed Rabiu, the commissioner for internal security and home affairs, Sule Shu’aibu SAN, and the chairman of Kajuru local government area, Madaki Dauda, over the alleged concealment of the abduction of 177 persons in Kurmin Wali community.
The forum accused the officials of deliberately denying the coordinated attacks on three churches in the community, an action it said weakened rescue efforts and allowed the attackers to escape with their captives.
In a statement issued on Thursday in Kaduna, SMBLF said the conduct of the affected officials amounted to a grave breach of public trust and worsened insecurity in Southern Kaduna.
The statement was jointly signed by HRM Oba Oladipo Olaitan, leader of SMBLF and Afenifere, Dr Bitrus Pogu, president of the Middle Belt Forum, Senator John Azuta Mbata, president general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, and Ambassador Godknows Igali, national chairman of PANDEF.
“What has further compounded this atrocity is the irresponsible and shocking public denial of the mass kidnapping by the Kaduna State Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Sule Shu’aibu (SAN); the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, CP Mohammed Rabiu; and the Chairman of Kajuru Local Government Council, Mr. Madaki Dauda.
“The SMBLF views this conduct not merely as a betrayal of public trust, but as a grave act of incompetence that undermined rescue efforts, emboldened the criminals, and gave the kidnappers valuable time to relocate their captives to remote terror enclaves,” the statement said.
The forum urged relevant authorities to take decisive disciplinary action against the officials “for deliberately misleading the public, obstructed emergency response, or sought to trivialise the suffering of victims.’
SMBLF said the Kurmin Wali attack had once again exposed the failure of Kaduna state’s policy of granting concessions to armed groups, insisting that the incident validated its opposition to the state’s amnesty programme for bandits.
The group described the programme as morally offensive and strategically flawed, arguing that it was unacceptable for the state to offer free medical treatment, educational opportunities for the children of terrorists, and skills acquisition programmes to perpetrators of violence who had not surrendered their weapons, while victims were left with trauma, displacement, and economic hardship.
The statement further lamented the absence of adequate security presence in many Southern Kaduna communities, which it said had left residents vulnerable to repeated attacks.
The forum called on the federal government to deploy military and intelligence assets without delay to secure the safe recovery of those abducted in Kurmin Wali.
According to the group, the delay in establishing state police had compounded Nigeria’s security challenges, urging the national assembly to urgently initiate legislation to enable it.
SMBLF also called on the federal government to activate existing security cooperation agreements with the United States and Israel, arguing that Nigeria lacked the capacity to defeat transnational terror networks acting alone.
“It urged Governor Uba Sani to discontinue what it described as the appeasement of terrorists and instead prioritise the protection of law abiding citizens.
The statement concluded with a call on governments at all levels to secure the immediate release of the abducted victims and take concrete steps to prevent a recurrence of such attacks.
SMBLF seeks sanctions against Kaduna officials over alleged cover up of Kurmin Wali abductions
