Carnage: Outrage as gunmen defy curfew, attack Southern Kaduna communities

Many Nigerians on Saturday expressed outrage as gunmen suspected to be Fulani militiamen launched fresh attacks on Southern Kaduna communities despite a 24-hour curfew imposed by the Kaduna State government.

This was as the umbrella body of Southern Kaduna people, Southern Kaduna Peoples Union, on Saturday said 63 people had been killed in the past one week by the militiamen.

The latest killings were reportedly carried out around 7am on Saturday when some suspected Fulani militiamen attacked three communities in Jema’a and Kaura local government areas of Kaduna State and killed at least nine people.

Eleven people were said to have sustained varying degrees of injuries during the attack. Several houses were also reportedly razed during the attacks.

The three communities attacked were Zikpak and Ungwan Masara (Fantsuam Chiefdom), both in Jema’a Local Government Area as well as Maraban Kagoro, in Kaura Local Government Area.

According to the spokesperson for SOKAPU, Luka Binniyat, no fewer than 50 gunmen invaded Zikpak and started shooting repeatedly. After attacking Zikpak, the gunmen reportedly headed for Ungwan Masara and Maraban Kagoro, where they also carried out further attacks.

Watchers say some parties to the perennial ethnic disputes in Nigeria are known to circulate photos of old attacks to gain an advantage but some of the voices who spoke against the latest attacks on social media claimed first-hand knowledge of the attacks. A popular musician, Joel Amadi, said herdsmen shot his father dead in Zikpak.

Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, the spokesperson for SOKAPU, Binniyat, said “They attacked Zipkak again by 7am (Saturday). They killed the wife of the Agwam Musa Didam of Fanstwam Chiefdom and burnt his house. The dead toll yesterday (Friday) was nine.

“A 24-hour curfew was imposed by (Governor Nasir) el-Rufai yesterday (Friday) and this morning (Saturday), the militiamen returned by 7am during the curfew and the village is now under attack as we speak. Zipkak is on the outskirts of Kafanchan and is the headquarters of the Fanstwam people.”

When contacted, the Kaduna State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mohammed Jalige, said he had yet to learn of the attacks but would find out.

“I am aware of the imposition of the curfew yesterday (Friday) by His Excellency but on this one (attacks), let me find out and I will get back to you,” he said.

However, Jalige did not get back to our correspondent, as promised, before the newspaper went to bed.

Saturday’s attacks came barely 24 hours after those that the victims described as suspected Fulani militia reportedly invaded Agwala Magayaki of Doka Avong in Kajuru Local Government Area of the state, killing seven persons, including an 85-year-old man. Some locals were declared missing while several houses were torched.

The attacks were fifth in the series of recent attacks ascribed to suspected Fulani militia on Southern Kaduna communities.

Recently, gunmen invaded Kukum-Daji village in Kaura Local Government Area and killed no fewer than 21 people, mostly youths, at a wedding.

In another attack that took place last Monday in Gora Gan in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area, 10 people were killed, while on Wednesday, five people were killed in an attack on Kizachi-Chawai community, Kauru Local Government Area.

The state governor, had on Thursday night imposed a 24-hour curfew on the flashpoints in Southern Kaduna. On Friday night, he extended the 24-hour-curfew to Jema’a and Kaura local government areas.

El-Rufai, who stated this via a tweet, said at the request of security agencies, the Kaduna State Government “has extended to Jema’a and Kaura local government areas the 24-hour curfew that is in force in Kauru and Zangon Kataf local government areas to help contain violence, restore law and order in the area.”

However, expressing outrage over the latest attacks, SOKAPU said they reinforced the agitation for regional security outfits like the Amotekun security agency in the South-West.

In an interview with one of our correspondents, the President of SOKAPU and a former member of the House of Representatives, Jonathan Asake, also condemned a statement by presidential spokesperson, Mallam Garba Shehu, that the killings in Southern Kaduna were politically-motivated and orchestrated by criminal gangs.

“From available security records, the problem in Southern Kaduna is an evil combination of politically-motivated killings and mutual violence by criminal gangs acting on ethnic and religious grounds,” Shehu had said.

But Asake said the fact that Kaduna State government did not respond to Shehu’s statement suggested complicity in the killings.

He said, “The killings will not end. Did you see the statement by the Presidency issued by Garba Shehu? That statement only shows the conspiracy against our people at the highest level because what Garba Shehu said is a reflection of the thinking of Kaduna State government.

“Some people are acting as if they are the owners of Nigeria. When people are being killed, they make statements that don’t hold water.

“The anger and call for regional police system is everywhere now with this recent killing more than ever before. The recent killings has reinforced agitation for regional police in Southern Kaduna.”

Asked if the union would meet with the governor to find an end to the killings, Asake said it wouldn’t resolve anything because the state had no governor.

“We are not meeting any governor. We don’t have a governor in Kaduna State but we have a hater; we have somebody who hates the people of Southern Kaduna for nothing. So meeting him will not change anything,” he said.

Also, a Southern Kaduna students union on Saturday expressed outrage over the killings.

The President, Southern Kaduna Students Union, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Sanke Athanasius, in an interview with Sunday PUNCH, called for “responsive governance” from el-Rufai.

Athanasius said, “If a governor cannot react to the killings and he is saying they (attackers) are carrying out reprisals, then we don’t know what we did to them. There is no attack on the Fulani by Southern Kaduna people.

“There is not much action to take because, even our senator, Danjuma La’ah, spoke on it in the Senate. But we have not seen any security operatives on the ground. They only come around to patrol on the main road and go, while the attacks are mostly on rural communities.”

Athanasius added, “I am in the Zangon Kataf Local Government Area. We have had killings recently, including in a village last night (Friday), and another attack on a village in Kafanchan. This evening (Saturday), as I speak, there is another attack on another village; it’s not been up to an hour now that we heard about it.

“As I speak, we don’t sleep. We only sleep in the afternoon, and at night, we go round keeping vigil because we don’t want any attackers to come in.”

Meanwhile, SOKAPU said 63 Southern Kaduna people had been killed within the past one week following attacks by suspected Fulani militiamen.

In a statement, the union’s spokesperson, Binniyat, listed the names of persons killed so far in one week, adding that after killing their people, the Fulani militiamen always looted their victims’ belongings and burnt houses.

Also, in the last one month, records showed that over 200 people had been killed in various Southern Kaduna communities in attacks by bandits and armed herdsmen.

According to Sunday PUNCH findings, the attacks were mostly in Zangon Kataf, Kaura, and Kauru local government areas of the state.

On Saturday, Nigerians reacted to the killings on Twitter with the hashtag #SouthernKaduna.

A lawyer and human rights activist, Inibehe Effiong, who tagged el-Rufai in his Twitter post, wrote, “Dear Mallam @elrufai, it is astonishing that you still sleep well at night despite the bloodbath that is taking place in Southern Kaduna.

“History will judge you very harshly for not exuding responsibility and leadership when it mattered most. You’ve failed as a governor.”

Another Twitter user, @JFromnl, who also tagged el-Rufai in his post, asked the governor a series of questions.

He wrote, “Sir, are you aware that there is so much bloodshed in Southern Kaduna? Sir, what are you going to do? Sir, is it until the indigenous people are wiped out of their land? Sir, is there genocide going on in Southern Kaduna? Sir, are lives so meaningless to you?”

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project also lent its voice to the Southern Kaduna killings via its Twitter handle, @SERAPNigeria, writing a five-line sentence with the words, “Impunity for killings in Southern Kaduna must stop.”

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project also lent its voice to the (outcry against the) Southern Kaduna killings via its Twitter handle, @SERAPNigeria, writing a five-line sentence with the words, “Impunity for killings in Southern Kaduna must stop.”

A tweet with the handle @trending_music also called for an end to the killings.

“These killings in Southern Kaduna might be normal new to some people, but the dead were some people’s fathers, children, aunts, and friends. They had names, lives, and dreams. Security is a key part of a state being sovereign. This madness has to stop,” he said.

A doctor with the handle, @dr_abbriggz, said it was sad that the lives of Southern Kaduna people did not matter to the government.

“These killings literally happen every day, it’s that bad. A few weeks ago, my hospital was where some of the casualties were treated. I feel for those guys. Unfortunately, the cry of the Southern Kaduna people isn’t getting the attention it deserves,” he said.

Also, Abdul-Aziz Na’ibi wrote, “If there is a governor in Kaduna State, we are calling for him to resign or end Southern Kaduna killings asap.”

Reacting to the killings, the Christian Association of Nigeria alleged that el-Rufai was not ready and willing to end the killings in Southern Kaduna.

Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, the spokesperson for CAN (19 Northern States & Abuja), John Hayab, stated, “The evidence we have now shows the state governor and his team are not ready and willing to stop the killings; instead, they are making statements that will further increase tension.

“The people of Southern Kaduna must arise to stop the killers from completely wiping them off from this planet earth. Our government, both at the federal and state levels, has failed the people and must do more to win the people’s trust again.

“The Church in Kaduna State has been appealing to its people to be law-abiding but no one is talking or doing what should be done to the killers.

Similarly, the Coordinating Chairman of CAN in Southern Kaduna, Rev Fr John Cheitnum, on Saturday said Christians living in the area were helpless because the state government did not value their lives.

Cheitnum, who is also the CAN Chairman in Jema’a Local Government Area and the Communications Director of the Catholic Diocese of Kafanchan, asked el-Rufai to tackle the killings.

He said, “When you talk about security, you are talking about the government because security is the responsibility of the government. Let me be plain to you and I can say this anywhere: These people (Fulani) are being sponsored to attack us.

“If one Muslim is killed today, el-Rufai will be the first to announce it on TV, but if 50 Christians are killed, he would tell you there is no problem and that they are on top of the situation. The governor does not value Christians living in Southern Kaduna. There are a handful of Muslims in Southern Kaduna and he has regard for their lives because if you touch one of them, the governor himself will do something.”

Condemning the killings, the National Human Rights Commission admonished security agencies to bring perpetrators of the Southern Kaduna killings to justice.

The Executive Secretary of the commission, Tony Ojukwu, in a statement on Saturday said the attacks were “most annoying and devastating.”

The statement read, “The Chief Executive Officer of the NHRC uses this opportunity to once again call for the implementation of the recommendations of the Presidential Panel on Reform of Special Anti-Robbery Squad and the Nigeria Police Force which, amongst other, recommended the establishment of state and local government police to check the spate of criminality and insecurity in the country.”

Also speaking on the killings, a former Chairman of the NHRC, Prof Chidi Odinkalu, described the situation as awful. He noted that the statement by the governor’s spokesperson seemed like it was written by someone indifferent about the situation rather than someone who had the executive responsibility for the situation at hand.

He added, “The fact remains the governor, his temperament and public positions have become part of the problem in Southern Kaduna, not part of the solution. The issue, in my view, is not whether or not the governor has done anything. He has. The question is whether or not the governor has been a constructive influence on the situation. It is clear that he has not been and that is the crux of the matter.”

He said referring to the killings as reprisals was irresponsible.

He added, “Essentially this, in my view, is irresponsible, because here is government normalising the slaughter of its own people. If you say these are reprisals, how many people have been killed by the children – six months olds or three-year-olds – slaughtered in this place?

“The normalisation of slaughter is the worst thing a government can do and that is what this lot has done. If you recall, they promised the people security not normalisation of being slaughtered.”

Also, a former member of the National Assembly, who represented the Kaduna Central Senatorial District in the 8th Senate, Shehu Sani, said the killings in Southern Kaduna were acts of terrorism and should be treated as such.

In a statement on Saturday, Sani said, “The continuous violence and bloodshed in Southern Kaduna is unconscionable and stands unreservedly condemned.

“The blood of the innocent is being spilt in the most unimaginably cruel and unspeakably evil manner and with impunity. In Southern Kaduna, the North has lost its conscience and the nation has lost its will and spirit. Terrorists have turned Southern Kaduna to a mortuary and a graveyard.

Several efforts on Saturday to get the state government’s reaction were futile.

The Special Adviser, Media and Communications to the Governor of Kaduna State, Muyiwa Adekeye, neither responded to calls nor a text message sent to him.

Also, the state Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Kaduna State, Samuel Aruwan, neither picked his call nor responded to a message sent to him on the issue.

However, while reacting to the incessant attacks in the southern part of the state on Friday, el-Rufai said killings were usually given ethnic and religious colourations.

Online news platform, TheCable, reported that in a statement by Adekeye, el-Rufai said while such attacks were referred to as crime in other northern states, the attacks and reprisals were described differently in Southern Kaduna, as they were given ethnic and religious undertones.

The governor maintained that his administration had taken major steps to secure the area, including ensuring that a military base was opened in Southern Kaduna along with two mobile police squadrons.

He said, “Insecurity in Kaduna State is being perpetrated by criminal elements who have been killing, kidnapping people and rustling cattle in the entire North West.

“The criminality of the bandits gets coated with ethnic and religious hues when it affects communities in the southern parts of the state, where it tends to exacerbate communal tensions and pitch people who have lived peacefully together against each other. 

Culled From: PUNCH.