The Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, has assured the people of Southern Kaduna that all those culpable in the dastardly act of killing innocents people in the area would be tracked down and prosecuted.
This was as he described the incident in Southern Kaduna as unfortunate and condemnable.
He stated this when the Council of Traditional Chiefs and Emirs, led by the Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris, paid him a solidarity visit.
“This is not something to talk about because I am not the first governor to receive this kind of treatment, every governor in the last 15 years in this state has been treated this way and it is part of the challenges and the burden of leadership. So, I am not disturbed.
“As you know, leaders, especially in any political dispensation, must learn to tolerate a lot of things because you have those who like you and those who oppose you because of political differences.
“That is why I did not take this personal, but what we will do is to prosecute all those responsible for the killings. And we are working with security agencies to ensure our citizens are safe,” the governor said.
He said the biggest assignment was for citizens to unite and allow peace as prerequisite for progress and development.
On the killings, the governor said three measures would be put in place.
“I have met the Chief of Army Staff and he has approved the establishment of two battalions in Sothern Kaduna; one in Kafanchan and the other one in Kachia.
“I thought the one in Kachia will be sited elsewhere, because of the presence of both the Nigerian Army and Navy schools, but I know the military has a reason of putting it in Kachia.
“Kaduna State government is looking for a temporary place in Kafanchan to provide the army a temporary settlement before a barrack will be constructed for them,” he said.
He said they were starting with Kafanchan, then that of Kachia would follow.
“We hope that this will douse the fear in the minds of people and that the military presence will build confidence and we hope that their presence will help in confronting the attackers, especially with the added surveillance aircraft.
“We also know that this is a harvest period for farmers, so we are asking the traditional rulers and community leaders to arrange with security operatives to plan how soldiers and police drafted in these areas will provide cover for farmers to go and harvest their crops.
“The second measure is that those involved in attacking and killing people and those behind the violence are being tracked and we have with the arrests of some who will be prosecuted.
“The third measure is that we have to go back to the dialogue and reconciliation efforts we have started in the past. We have a Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue that has been working in southern Kaduna, in the past two years.
“They have done similar work in Jos in reconciling the conflicting communities in Plateau and when they completed that assignment we invited them to come to Southern Kaduna. They facilitated the signing of Kafanchan Declaration in April 2016.
“These are some of the measures we are taking but our doors remain opened for anyone that has a recommendation or any advice for us on how to tackle these challenges.”
One killed, 5 injured in fresh Kaduna attack
The police in Kaduna on Sunday confirmed that unknown gunmen attacked Zankan village, a Fulani settlement in Kaura Local Government Area of the state.
Spokesman of the command, ASP Aliyu Usman, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna, that the incident occurred at about 8.30 p.m. on Saturday.
He said one person was killed and five others injured in the attack.
“The dead and the injured persons have been taken to the nearest medical centre in Ganawuri town, Plateau State,” Usman said.
He, however, said investigation into the incident had commenced.
“We are trailing the suspects behind the attack, but so far, no arrest has been made.
“We are, however, optimistic that the additional police operatives deployed in the area will fish out the culprits very soon,” he said.
The spokesman reiterated the commitment of the command to secure citizens and property in the state, saying “we will not allow lawlessness to thrive.”
He appealed to the public to always assist security agencies in the state with useful information to enable them to take proactive measures.
Gunmen move from Kaduna to kill in Plateau
Meanwhile, the entire Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State was thrown into confusion on Sunday following the killing of one Fulani man by suspected attackers who crossed from troubled Manchok in Kaduna to the Ganawuri of Riyom council area of Plateau State.
Plateau State chairman for Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association in Nigeria (MACBAN), Muhammad Nura, who stated this, said the attackers who stormed the council area, on Saturday night, also wounded two other persons and destroyed some property before they bolted away.
Manchok is part of the southern part of Kaduna State where there had been raging hostility between the natives and Fulani herdsmen; it is a boundary community of Kaduna State with Ganawuri in Plateau State.
Nura gave the name of the deceased as Yahaya Musa, while Suleiman Ibrahim and Samaila Adama are in critical conditions in a hospital.
He further pointed out that 16 of its members from Plateau State, who were returning to Wase, were killed in Kafanchan a few weeks back, while others were killed around Gidan waya and Godogodo, adding that despite this, the association pleaded with its members to remain calm.
In a related development, Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State has condoled with his Kaduna State counterpart, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, over the recent crisis in southern part of the state, saying the perpetrators of the dastardly act must not go unpunished.
Lalong, in a two-page condolence letter dated January 17 to Governor el-Rufai and made available to the Nigerian Tribune on Sunday, said the termination of lives was most unfortunate and disturbing.
Utomi, civil society leaders to engage Presidency,
el-Rufai, others
Eminent leaders of thought in Nigeria under the auspices of a new broad civil society network in Nigeria, the Civil Society Conflicts Intervention Team, has initiated an all-inclusive mechanism aimed at engaging the lingering Southern Kaduna violence.
The new group in the Nigerian civil society is jointly led by Professor Pat Utomi of the Nigeria Political Summit Group (NPSG) and Professor Jibo Ibrahim of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD).
A statement signed by the head of the team’s publicity, Mallam Naseer Kura, on Sunday, in Abuja, stated that the team, which was inaugurated on Thursday, in Abuja, was set to interface with the Presidency, Governor el-Rufai, the three senators from Kaduna, the four peace initiatives working on the Southern Kaduna crisis, as well as eminent leaders of thought from the Southern Kaduna region, among many others.
The statement called for collaboration on the part of all stakeholders to ensure that normalcy returned to southern Kaduna region and peace reigned.
Killings, reprisals senseless, inhuman —Kaduna Council of chiefs, emirs
The Kaduna State Council of Chiefs and Emirs have described the cycle of killings and reprisals as senseless and inhuman.
The council also appealed to security agencies and government at all levels to urgently tackle hate speech, divisive rhetoric and incitement.
Chairman of the council and the Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris, stated this when he led council members on a solidarity visit to el-Rufai at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna, on Sunday.
“The reason all traditional leaders pay his excellency this courtesy visit is to condole with the government over the recent loss of lives in Southern Kaduna. Killings and counter-killings are senseless and ungodly; they are not solution to any problem. It is quite disheartening and worrisome.
“We must work hard against these threats to our peace and unity. We are also here to commiserate with his excellency on the attack of his convoy when he visited Kafanchan.
“We have to carry out our duties, we shouldn’t leave the Kaduna State government with the responsibility of security alone, as it is said that one tree cannot make a forest. The governor and his deputy cannot provide security in the state alone; we have to put all hands on deck. We should continue to pray in our mosques and churches for peace to reign in our state and the nation at large.”
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