The Kaduna State Government has recovered more than 500,000 hectares of land previously controlled by bandits across the state.
The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Ahmed Maiyaki, revealed this on Sunday at a gala night hosted by his ministry in honour of members of the Kano Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists.
The members of the Kano Correspondents’ Chapel were in Kaduna for the 2026 Retreat, themed “2027 General Elections: Navigating Legal, Security and Ethical Challenges in the Media.”
Addressing the journalists, Maiyaki said, “I’m happy to tell you that the present administration under the able leadership of Governor Uba Sani has, within the past three years, recovered over 500,000 hectares of land from bandits.
“As you know, without security you cannot achieve anything. Before now, farmers in such areas were unable to go to their farms due to the activities of the bandits.”
He explained that banditry had previously compelled many travellers to abandon journeys between Kaduna and Abuja.
“I’m happy to say that that has now become a thing of the past because the security situation in Kaduna State has greatly improved,” the commissioner said.
Maiyaki said the state government would maintain its focus on security, describing it as the foundation for achieving meaningful development in society.
He said the government, as part of measures to boost food production, distributed 500 trucks of fertiliser free of charge to at least 150,000 farmers across the state during the 2026 farming season.
“In 2024, the government distributed 400 trucks of fertiliser to farmers free of charge. Similarly, 500 trucks of the commodity were distributed in 2025 in addition to the 500 trucks distributed to over 150,000 farmers in 2026,” he said.
Speaking on education, the commissioner said the state had reduced the population of out-of-school children from 550,000 to 187,000.
He said the government acquired 100 CNG buses in July 2025, which are being deployed to convey students and civil servants at reduced fares as part of efforts to ease transportation costs.
“From July 2025, no fewer than 3.5 million people have been transported with the vehicles, and nothing less than N3.8m has been saved for people.
“Even the Nigeria Labour Congress has confirmed that workers have saved 40 per cent of their income since the introduction of the CNG buses,” he added.
The chairman of the chapel, Murtala Adewale, commended the Kaduna State Government for hosting the gala night.
