KADUNA State was all mourning yesterday after yet another orgy of violence unleashed by marauders suspected to be Fulani herdsmen.
No fewer than 100 people died in the latest massacre in Ugwar Sankwai, Ungwar Gata and Chenshyi villages all in Bondon district, Southern Kaduna, late Friday by the gunmen.
The victims were given mass burial at about 4.15pm yesterday.
Communities in southern Kaduna have under repeated attacks from gunmen in the last two years with many people killed and property including farmland destroyed.
Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero of Kaduna State denounced the latest attack as ungodly and barbaric.
The attackers were said to have invaded the three villages, one after the other at about 11.30pm shooting and setting houses ablaze.
Villagers who tried to run for their lives were either gunned down or matcheted.
One of the survivors, Nuhu Moses from Chenshyi village put the number of the attackers at 40.
They were armed with guns, knives and other weapons, he said.
He said over 50 people were killed at Chenshyi alone.
Moses said “there is no house standing. All the houses were burnt by the attackers while people who attempted to run were gunned down. I was just lucky to have escaped, but our Pastor’s wife, and kids were among the people that were butchered.”
A resident of Ungwar Sankwai, Jonathan Bako said he did not know how he managed to escape.
Speaking with The Nation by phone, the President of the Southern Kaduna People’s Union (SOKAPU), Dr. Ephraim Goje said the attack was one too many.
He renewed the union’s call on the federal government to establish a military post in the area.
He challenged government to take urgent steps to address the situation and protect the people of the area from extinction, while asking both the federal and state governments to provide relief materials to those affected by the incident.
Governor Yero expressed deep sadness and shock over the unwarranted attacks on innocent citizens of the state.
He assured the victims of government’s commitment to the protection of lives and property of the entire people of the state and called on people in the communities to remain calm as government is already working with security agencies towards scaling up its strategies in order to improve security, especially in border communities.
The governor noted that constant attack on innocent community was unacceptable, saying that government will step up efforts to improve surveillance and curtail future occurrence.
The governor who vowed to bring the perpetrators of the attacks to justice ordered full investigation into the attack and promised to empower community surveillance by vigilance groups in areas that have become prone to such ugly violence, to complement formal security arrangements towards forestalling reoccurrence.
He prayed that God should expose the ‘merchants of darkness’, who are bent on sowing seeds of confusion and hate in the state, saying “We pray that God should expose the people that are causing this problem. We pray that God should touch their hearts to stop such dastardly acts or destroy their evil machinations.”
Vice Chairman of the Local government Daniel Anyip said countless homes were set ablaze, saying “From our records, in all the three villages attacked, only five houses are standing while people killed are about 100. These are villages that housed a lot of people but they are now homeless,” he said.
Anyip who is overseeing the local government however told journalists in southern Kaduna that two of those killed were attackers identified to be Fulani resident in one of the villages in the area.
The member representing Kaura Local Government in the State House of Assembly, Yakubu Bityong, who visited the scene of the attack condemned the massacre, describing it as satanic, barbaric and condemnable by right thinking persons.
The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in the Local Government, Rev. Isa Goar, condemned the attack and asked the people of the area to remain calm.
The Kaduna State Police Command Spokesman, Aminu Lawan said security men had been mobilised to the area.
Reacting to the development, the Southern Kaduna Indigenes Progressive Forum (SKIPFo) described the attack as barbaric, pointing out that the attack has further exposed government’s insensitivity to the plight of the people of the area.
Its chairman, Major George Asake (rtd) accused government of failing to take action on the killings taking place in the area despite advise and protest, saying “we are living in a state of anarchy and we will do everything possible to take the government to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to answer charges on the massive killings of our people on a daily basis. It is very painful and difficult that we keep mourning everyday without the government doing anything about it”.
Also reacting to the massacre, the Centrum Initiative for Development and Rights Advocacy (CEDRA) renewed its earlier call on the federal government to declare a state of emergency in southern Kaduna.
Spokesman of the group, John Danfulani in a statement said that the incessant attacks in the area were gradual genocide and extinction.
He called for a state of emergency in Southern Kaduna to stem the violence.
He said: “It is clear that Kaduna state government and their agents are only playing politics with the insecurity ravaging Southern Kaduna region. We will also not shy away from stating the obvious that Kaduna state government has failed and only playing double standard, so also security agencies operating in the state.
“It is abundantly clear that the elders and elected representatives from Southern Kaduna are less concerned due to their political expediencies. They should know that posterity will judge them and they have began journey into political wilderness as blood of our helpless villagers is on their heads”.
