Herdsmen Attack: Southern Kaduna people call for el-Rufai resignation

THE people of Southern Kaduna, under the Southern Kaduna People’s Union (SOKAPU) have called for immediate resignation of the state governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, if he cannot protect the lives and property of the citizen, especially in Southern Kaduna.

They have also called for immediate arrest and prosecution of members of the Miyyeti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) who have openly confessed to participating in reprisal killings, in Southern Kaduna.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on the situation in Southern Kaduna, members of SOKAPU, led by its President, Solomon Musa, made a number of demands which must be met immediately.

“Failure to initiate a sincere process of addressing these demands will leave us with no option than to march to the National Assembly in two weeks’ time to register our displeasure with the way the security and welfare of our people are being handled,” Musa added.

Making the demands, he said: “The Kaduna State Governor should resign immediately if he cannot uphold his first and most important responsibility of protecting the lives and property of citizens, especially in Southern Kaduna.

“The immediate arrest and prosecution of members of the Miyyeti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) who have openly confessed to participating in ‘reprisal’ killings

“The investigation of Governor Nasir el-rufai who has openly owned up to paying foreign terrorists carrying out the attacks in Southern Kaduna. The reopening of the Kafanchan Campus of the Kaduna state university that was closed since 19th of December, 2016 so that students in this institution are afforded the same opportunity accorded their counterparts in other Campuses.”

He also called for reopening of the College of Education Gidan Waya that was also officially closed on the 20th of December 2016; and immediate discontinuation of harassment and intimidation of our youths and traditional leaders

SOKAPU also called for the immediate redeployment of troops into the bushes and forest around some of our attack prone communities so as to flush out the killer militias, and immediate establishment of a camp for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) by the government in Southern Kaduna.

He stated that SOKAPU is the socio-cultural umbrella body of the 53 indigenous ethnic nationalities registered and spread across 11 of the 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Kaduna State.

The SOKAPU President pointed out that Southern Kaduna has been under the clutches of wicked, mindless, heartless and murderous armed terrorists.

He said: “Various sleeping peaceful communities have, without provocation and, or any previous conflict with the Fulanis, been surrounded, homes set on fire and occupants either killed by gunfire or slaughtered with the swords.

“In such killing-spree all lives, especially the vulnerable (women, children and the aged) have always been the major victims as the marauders only spared those who could outrun them. Farmlands and harvested crops either stored at home or in the farmlands are equally destroyed.

“Thereafter, the marauders, with their Cattle settle on the sacked villages and prevent any returning survivors from either returning to their homes or the farmlands. Up to 61 different communities have been attacked, some repeatedly with huge human casualty figures and millions of Naira in loses.”