ALTHOUGH, killings in Southern part of Kaduna State can be traced to the 80s, with the outbreak of the 1983 Kafanchan crisis, the number of deaths recorded in the area since the 2011 post-election violence has become very alarming and unabated.
Since the end of the post-presidential election violence, several villages in Sanga, Kaura and Kachia local government areas have been attacked by unknown gunmen, with several people killed, villages razed and other property worth millions of naira destroyed; even though several measures have been put in place by government and other stakeholders, the killings have continued.
Following the mass killing of innocent people in three villages of Maro’a Chiefdom, the immediate past Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Dikko Abubakar, set up a committee to find a lasting solution to the constant invasion of Southern Kaduna villages by suspected Fulani herdsmen. The meeting took place at the General Hassan Usman Katsina House in Kaduna, where a cease-fire arrangement was put in place. Many, especially Southern Kaduna youths, did not believe in the peace deal.
The peace deal was broken just few months after the agreement, as unknown gunmen attacked a police station at Fadan Karshi in Sanga Local Government Area, leaving six people dead. Similarly, barely 24 hours the international conference organised by the office of the National Security Adviser, which aimed at finding a lasting solution to the constant attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen, a couple was killed in their farm also in Fadan Karshi, while two villages were attacked, leaving not less than 38 people dead.
In a related development, over 300 people have been killed in separate attacks in the same community of Fadan Karshi between June and September this year. The incident, which started as an attack on two villages of Sanga Local Government Area, gradually spread around the local government with more villages coming under the attack of the Fulani herdsmen, leaving in their trail series of death of innocent men, women and children.
It was gathered that, the attackers invaded Kabamu Village in Fadan Karshi District and Ankpon in Nandu District both of Numana Chiefdom at 10:00pm on the night of Monday, June 22, this year. The last attack by the gunmen in the same community claimed over 20 lives, with several others sustaining various degrees of injuries. The attack, which took place on September 19, was said to have started at midnight. The attackers set houses ablaze. One of the survivors of the attack, who identified himself as Bitrus Solomon, was quoted as saying that many people who could not run were shot dead.
Apart from these attacks, which lasted for almost one week without help coming to the victims, the community has constantly suffered series of attacks since then. It was gathered that farmers in the area could not go to their farms due to fear of probable attacks. As they could not cultivate their farm lands this year, fears are that the community may experience starvation.
However, the people have accused Governor Mukthar Ramalan Yero of being insensitive to their plight, saying he merely condemned the attacks and does nothing to ensure that they are safe. Rev. Yunana Oganto, President of Reach Forth Nigeria and a native of the area had told The Nation that Governor Yero has not shown any sign of sensitivity about the events. He urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in Southern Kaduna. They believe it’s the only way to stop the carnage. Apart from the incidents in Fadan Karshi, there had been other serious attacks in other parts of Southern Kaduna; the most fatal being in Bondon and Fadan Attakkar.
Having accused the governor of being insensible to their plight, the people turned against him when he decided to visit. Apparently, the governor’s decision not to visit may not be unconnected with the ugly incident when he paid a similar visit to Manchok where angry residents threw stones at his convoy. But his visit to Fadan Karshi may also have been a terrible mistake.
Even though he went there with a high-powered security team, the women in the area did not consider his visit a friendly one. Concerned about the repeated attacks on the people, the governor decided to visit them. He was, however, conscious of the fact that when his deputy, Nuhu Bajoga, visited the area after the earlier attacks in June, he was not well received and so decided to visit the area well prepared.
The Nation gathered that the people, especially women, decided to embarrass the governor, who was received at the palace of the District Head of Fadan Karshi. Majority of the women protested half nude as a way of showing their displeasure to the killings of their people and the seeming lack of interest by the state government.
The National President of Ninzom Progressive Youths, Bezard Wuyah, who confirmed the action of the women, explained that “the women were angry that after about seven attacks on their villages, in which not less than 300 people were killed since July, the governor had not visited the place until a few weeks to the primary elections.”
Wuyah further said that, “the governor came with hundreds of soldiers, policemen, Road Safety Corps and State Security Service (SSS) personnel, even with a detachment of Prison Guards. It was more of an invasion, not a condolence visit. Our mothers and sisters who were expecting a sober, caring governor were furious when they noticed that the visit was meant to intimidate them. So, they had to bare their minds with regard to the negligence they had suffered since gunmen sacked their villages and rendered them homeless. You will be surprised to learn that the women were organised. They were united in their grief and anger as neglected widows. They came from about seven ethnic groups.
“One of them lost her husband and four sons. They and their children are starving in refugee camps that are not fit for human habitation. Natives of Sanga are law-abiding and we are appealing to everyone to remain calm since the governor has come and seen the situation.”
On its part, the Southern Kaduna Indigenes Progressive Forum (SKIPFO) accused the governor of going to Sango to show off his might. Its Chairman, Major George Nchok Asake (rtd), said in a statement that “it is no longer news that the state governor, Alhaji Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, has never deemed it necessary to pay any condolence visit to the affected Southern Kaduna communities that have had their people brutally and mercilessly killed. He has also not taken any action to protect the affected communities or any other Southern Kaduna community for that matter, except those occupied by his settlers Hausa/Fulani brothers.
“Yero visited Fadan Karshi with a very large contingent of armed personnel. That was not a show of sympathy or condolence. It was pure show of state might to intimidate and suppress any dissension in view of his hate against our people. We kick against this show of naked power and we want to assure him that we shall take our revenge at the ballot box.”
But a group of Southern Kaduna youths, under the auspices of the Yero Vanguard, who have sympathy for the governor, told our correspondent that the action of the women was a show of shame as the governor had done everything possible to ensure that the people are safe.
Their spokesman, Istifanus Musa, accused politicians in the area of sponsoring the protest against the governor, who was in Fadan Karshi to sympathise with the people. He said: “After the first attack in the area, the governor sent his deputy and some relief materials. This time, he decided to visit the people himself. What wrong has he done to warrant such humiliation? The man has done well for the people of the state since he assumed office. Instead of being grateful to him, people are sponsoring such demonstrations against him.”
The ceasefire agreement
As part of the peace moves, leaders of the Southern Kaduna People’s Union (SOKAPU), and Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), had recently in Kaduna signed a peace agreement toward ending months of hostilities in the area since the series of attacks were suspected to have been carried out by Fulani herdsmen.
The peace pact, which came after several meetings under the supervision of senior police officials, was signed for the Fulanis by the Chairman of MACBAN in Kaduna State, Alhaji Ahmadu Suleiman; Chairman, Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore Socio-Cultural Association, Dr Ibrahim Abdullahi and the State Secretary, Mobgal Fulbe Development Association, Ahmad Yandeh, while the Southern Kaduna team was represented by the SOKAPU National President, Dr. Ephraim Goje; National Chairman, Moroa Development Association, Mr. Musa Sheyin and a member of SOKAPU executive committee, Bitrus Gwadah.
Also, in a communique that followed the peace pact, the two groups stressed the need for a ceasefire, continued dialogue and return of peace and unity to the state, calling for close monitoring of people’s movement, and suggested more involvement of traditional rulers in that respect.
The meeting also called for a return to the traditional intelligence gathering mechanisms, while mobile police and military units should be established in Kafanchan and Birnin Gwari for quick response to security challenges, while, urging governments at all levels to improve on security agencies’ capacities to handle crisis by providing adequate logistics.
According to the communique, “There is also the need for joint community policing, comprising all ethnic groups, to complement the efforts of the security agencies, while proliferation of small and medium arms should be seriously checked. The youth should be sensitised on the need for self-restraint and the dangers of taking laws into their hands, while the perpetrators of attacks must be fished out and brought to book.
“The pastoralists should be encouraged to adopt modern animal husbandry techniques in place of roaming with their livestock, while all grazing reserves that have been encroached should be reclaimed while compensation should be paid to the original landowners where this has not been done,” it read.
The communiqué also recommended the implementation of recommendations of all previous committees established by the state government on peace and reconciliation, and emphasised the need to resolve all outstanding issues on boundary disputes with neighbouring states.
Reactions to ceasefire
However, in reaction to the peace move, there was palpable anger in Southern Kaduna as people insisted on going ahead with the compiled attacks on their villages by suspected herdsmen before the International Criminal Court (ICC). They said: “The main characteristic of the on-going assaults on our communities is that they are carefully planned, organised and executed with heartless viciousness and on incremental basis. Between 1981 and 2010, there were just 16 incidents of such attacks.
“However, between 2011 and 2014, over a period of four years, 37 such attacks have been launched against our hospitable, accommodating, peaceful and law-abiding communities by Fulani herdsmen. These planned, systematic and coordinated attacks have claimed the lives of over 4,000 innocent Southern Kaduna people”, a coalition of seven groups representing Southern Kaduna, led by a former Kaduna State Commissioner of Justice, Zakari Sokfa, said in Kaduna, in their apparent rejection of the ‘ceasefire’.
The coalition said the deal was a charade, and that it lacked credibility since it had no endorsement of their chiefs and community leaders. According to them, the SOKAPU President had no authority to enter into an agreement with the Fulani on his own terms without the congress or even the executive of SOKAPU agreeing on what to table and how.
The National Youth leader of SOKAPU, Sabastine Luka, who said he was speaking on behalf of Southern Kaduna youths, condemned the agreement and was signatory to the press statement read by Sokfa on behalf of the coalition.
However, DIG Zuokumor, who initiated the peace move, dismissed the protest as the handiwork of those who benefit from violence. He said the affected communities were happy with the peace agreement.
In the meantime, Mr. Nuhu Waney, the coordinator of the camp holding about 2,000 Mora refugees from Tekum, Ma Gata and Sankwai, the three communities attacked by suspected herdsmen, said: “We at home are shocked and angry that some people sitting in the comfort of their offices in Kaduna would concoct a so-called peace agreement with the Fulani.
“We do not know the content of the agreement and we were not informed. In any case, we are not at war with the Fulani. Let the Fulani come and tell us what is their grouse with us and then we will know. What kind of peace agreement will you sign with someone who would come into your home in the night, kill your wife and children and burn you alive and you have no idea of any wrong you have done to him?
“Do they want us to sign that we have given them our lands, then, we move so that they come and take over? We the affected villages believe that the Fulani should be the ones to sign agreement with government promising not to attack us again. We are unhappy with this kind of political trick, while we are still under the fire of the Fulani. Right now, we are waiting for the soldiers who have gone to engage the Fulani to come out and tell us what is going on,” he said.
On his part, Dr. Bonnat Zwahu, speaking on behalf of Southern Kaduna Development Association, said that any Fulani that is signatory to any agreement would mean that he was in the know of the massacre of the people of Southern Kaduna. He said that such a person should be arrested and made to face justice.
Government’s efforts
The governor, through his Director General Media, Ahmed Maiyaki, said the state government under Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero has consistently demonstrated through words and actions, his commitment to evolving lasting peace and security in all parts of the state.
According to him, “It is on record that Governor Yero has personally visited Southern Kaduna on several occasions to commiserate with victims of such mindless attacks and to also meet with stakeholders from the area on the need to collaborate in fighting those bent on afflicting the people with mindless killings. During these visits, the governor supported the victims by providing them with emergency relief, while also calling the attention of relevant security agencies to take adequate measures to forestall recurrence.
“We are sadly also aware that some of such persons have sold their conscience and are doing the biddings of some paymasters with political interests. Such persons rather than taking part in seeking lasting solution to the problem have chosen to play dirty politics with human lives, just for the sake of personal ambitions. Saboteurs are evidently at work.”
He added that, over the period, Governor Yero has made a few efforts in bringing lasting peace to Southern Kaduna, which he said included meetings with elders and groups from the affected communities, followed by a meeting with traditional rulers. “This is part of his multi dimensional approach to improving security and halting criminals carrying out attacks in the state, particularly in Southern Kaduna, Birinin Gwari and Giwa that are vulnerable to such attacks. So, there has been an increase in security presence in the area, which is being funded by the government, as it has held several meetings and is collaborating with relevant stakeholders with a view to addressing the menace of the criminal gunmen and the issue of youth restiveness under the influence of drugs.
“The government has also come up with strategies that we believe would broadly address the issues through the promotion of dialogue amongst resident citizens. This is predicated on the fact that continuous dialogue among communities promotes mutual and harmonious co-existence. We believe that no amount of security presence would ensure peaceful co-existence without the buy in of the communities.
“To involve the community in the security process, it is on record that the administration has initiated the Kaduna State Vigilante Service with a mandate for community surveillance. In addition, the government has commenced the process of empowering critical stakeholders on ways to assist security agencies in curbing the incessant killings,” he said.
It will be recalled that a two-day retreat was held in Kaduna in March this year, aimed at involving traditional rulers in the process of securing our communities through the established systems as being practised in the past. Similar retreat was held for religious leaders and respected men of God to collaborate with the authorities in their collective determination to bring lasting peace and security in the state.
Yero, during the retreat, said as religious leaders, they should become part of the solution and shun the temptation of joining in the unnecessary blame game and wild accusations. He said: “I am not biased against any section of Kaduna State; to me, the entire people of the state are one. I urge those whose stock in trade is to spread hate to desist lest they are met with the divine fury of God Almighty. We call on all citizens of the state to continue to support government in its genuine efforts at ending incessant attacks on our people.
“The state government is confident that the war against criminals and those bent on causing confusion in our state and indeed in the country will be won through concerted efforts of all. This is not time for blame game and attempt at politicising the killing of innocent souls. It is time to forge greater unity to ensure the triumph of good over evil,” said Yero.
