Palace vandalised
Gunmen kill three policemen in Kano
A TWO-DAY raid by unknown gunmen on four communities in Kaura Local Government Area, Southern Kaduna, has left 20 people dead, villagers claimed yesterday. The police said 19 died.
The gunmen, believed to be nomadic herdsmen, allegedly invaded the villages on Saturday night and continued their raid on Zilang, Taliki, Zangkan and Mafang hilltop communities – home to many villagers – till early Sunday.
All four communities are located on the boundary between Kaduna and Plateau states.
Council chairman Kumai L.J Badun attributed the killings to gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, who apparently launched reprisal attack over the poisoning of two cows in Mafang community.
The council boss told reporters that the attack began from Atakar chiefdom. He said: “There was a young man, Aboi Stephen (21), in Mafan who had been complaining that cows have been grazing into his dry season farm.
“I was told that the cattle destroyed a good portion of the farm and that there was no end in sight to the destruction.
“Only the Fulanis own cattle there. About two weeks ago, two cows were found dead, apparently of poison. The owner of the cows was said to have publicly warned Aboi of the grave consequences of his actions. I don’t know if it was Aboi that poisoned the cows or not or even if they had died of poisoning.
“Then, one day, Aboi was found missing. A search by the villagers found his corpse. He had deep machete cuts all over his body and his throat was slit open.
“Upon that discovery, women and children mobilised to the palace of the chief of Atakar, Chief Tobias Nkom-Wada, and accused him of inviting the Fulani into Atakar land in the first place. They vandalised the palace. And the chief is now living in his personal house in Tachire here.
“On seeing what the women and children did, the Fulani started moving out en masse to their kinsmen in Kanawuri areas of Plateau State, which also has some number of Atakar speaking villages.
“On their way, they shot a young man that same day in Kanawuri area and that pitched them against the Atakar people in Plateau State and they fought for days.
“The fighting led to the burning of some structures in Atakar, as you read in the papers. The displaced residents had to relocate to this council, where we opened the first refugee camp for them at Mifi. But we have closed it and merged it with the other camps because it was too vulnerable too.
“When the army moved in last week, the Fulanis left Kanawuri in Plateau, staged a comeback to this place with their arms last Saturday. By 3pm, they attacked Mafan, Zalang, Taliki and Zangkan villages up the hills while able bodied men were either in the farms or in the market.
“They went on, unchallenged from 3pm on Saturday till Sunday morning. When the army arrived at the scene on Sunday morning, the officer in charge told me that they counted 19 bodies. All the houses in the villages have been burnt.
“They made no arrest, because the attackers left before arrival of the security men. Right now, soldiers have escorted some men back to the villages to bury their dead.
“We have no fewer than 5000 refugees now. And that is a huge challenge for us, despite the fact that Governor Muktar Ramalan Yero has done so much and he is still doing more to help.
“This kind of attack took me by surprise because, even during the post-election violence, the Fulani here were living in peace with the people. They left on their own and later returned on their own.”
A refugee at Fadan Attakar, Luka Bitiong, said the attacks began on Saturday afternoon and lasted till Sunday night, adding that many residents were terrified by the sound of guns shots used by the invaders.
Bitiong said: “When they came, we ran up to the hills in Attakar. Many of our people were killed. We left the hills to seek refuge in Attakar because we were scared of going back. Some of those who went back to our village to look at the level of destruction could not return as they were killed by the gunmen.”
Another refugee from Mafang, lso Matthew Bulus, claimed the gunmen were dressed in black and armed with sophisticated guns.
He said that over 80 households in Mafang village had been displaced as their homes were set ablaze by the invaders.
“When the military men came, there was nothing much they could do because they don’t know the terrain of our communities. They asked some of our youths to follow them and guide them but our boys were scared of accompanying them since they (the boys) have no arms.
“But the soldiers eventually went into the hills in search of the invaders. We don’t know whether they were able to make any arrest or not.”
The District Head of Mafang, Mr. Yusuf Bilong, who ran away from his community, described the attack as “deadly”, saying: “I’ve never heard the sound of such guns. The attack was launched on Saturday at about 3:00pm. The attackers shot randomly killing mostly children and women.”
Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Mr Adefemi Adenaike confirmed the death of 19 people in the attack.
The police chief said: “The incident happened on top of the hills, not on the ground. We did not notice it on time due to the nature of the hills. It was, until people started running down from the hills that we noticed. But our men are on ground to restore law and order.
“The security report I have is that only 19 people were killed by unknown gunmen. The place is now calm and peaceful.We are working round the clock to fish out the attackers. For now, we don’t know who are behind it but I assure you we will get them.”
Yero has directed security agencies to bring the perpetrators to justice.
In a statement by his media aide, Ahmed Maiyaki, the governor directed the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to immediately provide succour to all those displaced.
The attack came barely 24 hours after Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) reported the influx of herdsmen from other states to communities in Southern Kaduna to the governor.
The union urged the governor to stop the trend to avoid fresh hostilities in their domain.
SOKAPU alleged that the invaders were fleeing the manhunt launched by security operatives in some states under the Boko Haram siege.
Union President Mr Ephraim Goje, who reacted to the influx of the herdsmen, said residents would hold the government responsible if the governor failed to act.
Goje said: “The governor should send them back to where they are coming from. They cannot create trouble somewhere and run to Southern Kaduna for refuge.”
Three policemen were yesterday killed by suspected terrorists in Kano. They were ambushed while patrolling the streets of the state capital.
The incident occurred at about 8.30pm around Yankaba Quarters.
Residents alleged that the suspected terrorists killed the security operatives and took away their AK 47 riffles.
Immediately after the incident, men of the Joint Task Force (JTF) cordoned off the area.
Panic gripped residents, who stayed off the streets.
Police spokesman Majida Magaji, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), could not be reached last night for confirmation and comments.
