Federal Government has been called upon to intervene in the case of a road blockage by the Army Central Ammunition Depot Agunu in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State and its immediate community.
The spokesman of the Agunu Community Development Association, Barrister Luka Godwin Waziri made the call during a peaceful protest by residents of the community in Kachia.
Barrister Luka Godwin Waziri explained that the only road that connected the community with the outside world was excavated while the residents watched helplessly.
‘Agunu Community play host to the military depot and from the 80s up till date, the people have enjoyed a cordial relationship with the army, some of which even took for themselves wives”
”Agunu people happily rejoiced and celebrated the citing of the depot in their motherland, believing that its presence will facilitate both social and economic life of the people in terms of road development, provision of pipe borne water, electricity, security and other social amenities but this is not to be at least for now” he explained.
He however lamented that the residents were in pain due to the present blockade, thereby appealing to relevant authorities to come to their aid in resolving the issue.
The Barrister also explained that the community had made several efforts to draw the attention of the military at all levels through letters and petitions by the leaders of the community but to no avail.
Barrister Luka Godwin also stressed that the blockade of the road would expose them to more security threats as they were caged without any escape route in case of any criminal or banditry attacks.
”The people are very conversant with the current security situation bedevilling the country as a whole, nevertheless, the army was established primarily to secure the citizens against both external and internal aggressions, doing otherwise would amount to the desertion of this responsibility at the expense of the precious lives of the unarmed and defenceless civilians”.
”We the people have come as law-abiding citizens and calling on the Nigerian Army to reconsider its decision based on the danger the community will be exposed to and reopen the roads for smooth return of normalcy,” he concluded.
All efforts to speak with a representative of the Nigerian Army at the Army Central Ammunition Depot proved abortive as officers who are on the ground say their Boss is in Kaduna for an official engagement.
Radio Nigeria find out that the Agunu Community is a remote settlement about sixty kilometres away from Kaduna with a population of about four thousand people who are mainly farmers.
Cov/Teddy Daniel
