SOUTHERN and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) has described as shocking the claim ‘with fanfare’ by the Kaduna State governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, that 66 Fulani people got killed in Kajuru Local Government area of the state due to reprisal attack without showing evidence of death up till now.
SMBLF expressed this shock on Tuesday in a release signed by Yinka Odumakin for South-South-West, Senator Bassey Henshaw (South-South), Prof Chigozie Ogbu (South-East) and (Dr Isuwa Dogo (Middle- Belt), saying it considered it as the highest level of irresponsibility for a governor to be inciting ethnic passion the way el-Rufai did except he could produce the bodies of his alleged ‘reprisal killings’.
It would be recalled that Governor el-Rufai had on the eve of the postponed Presidential and National Assembly, announced to the whole world that a total of 66 Fulani people were killed in a reprisal attack in Kajuru Local Government Area of the state, whereas the concerned community maintained that the incident took place earlier in different area, where 11 innocent Adara people were killed by suspected herdsmen without any provocation.
“The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum has watched with keen interest the recent attempt by the governor of Kaduna State, Mr Nasir el-Rufai to foment ethnic crisis in his state on the eve of the botched February 16 Presidential elections.
“The Governor had claimed the reprisal killing of 66 Fulani people in Kajuru LG Area of the state with fanfare but has yet to show evidence of deaths as we write this.
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“The glee with which the governor went on air on Friday 15th February 2019, alleging the killings was shocking for the Chief Executive of a state.
“The governor went ahead to list the number of villages that were attacked but deliberately excluded Ungwan Barde where 11 people with identified corpses were killed for whatever reasons best known to him.
“The governor claimed that the incident happened on the eve of the election. But the truth by the community concerned is that the incident took place between Sunday 10th February, to Tuesday 12 February 2019 in Ungwar Barde in Kufana District, where 11 innocent Adara people were killed by suspected herdsmen without any provocation,” SMBLF stated.
“We view it as the highest level of irresponsibility for a governor to be inciting ethnic passion the way el-Rufai has done except he can produce the bodies of his alleged ‘reprisal killings,” the group declared.
SMBLF recalled that the same el- Rufai had said on national television months ago that he had paid whopping sums of money to foreign herdsmen involved in attacking communities in Southern Kaduna, adding that of late the Kaduna State governor had threatened international observers that they would return home in ‘body bags’ if they interfered in the internal affairs of Nigeria.
“Nigerians would recall this same man said on national television months ago that he had paid whopping sums of money to foreign herdsmen involved in attacking communities in Southern Kaduna.
“Of late, he threatened international observers that they would return home in ‘body bags’ if they interfered in the internal affairs of Nigeria,” the group said.
According to SMBLF, it is tragedy of failure of leadership in Nigeria today that there is nobody to call el-Rufai, who now appeared much more dangerous than the dreaded Boko Haram Commander, Abubakar Shekau to order as he made reckless and dangerous utterances, urging him, however, to stop inciting ethnic violence and seek support for elections on the basis of programmes and not playing Kaduna people against themselves.
“It is the tragedy of the failure of leadership in Nigeria today that there is nobody to call the man who now appears much more dangerous than Shekau to order as he makes reckless and dangerous utterances.
“We call on el-Rufai to stop inciting ethnic violence and seek support for elections on the basis of programmes and not playing Kaduna people against themselves,” SMBLF said.