The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Southern Kaduna

  • Way forward for Southern Kaduna

    Way forward for Southern Kaduna

    Raided fairly consistently by bandits, Southern Kaduna and other stakeholders ponder peace and rehabilitation options, reports TONY AKOWE

    The past two years have been especially nightmarish for residents of the southern part of Kaduna State. Bandits loosely called Fulani herdsmen often attack them, killing and wounding them and setting their homes on fire.

    The residents cry out. At a forum to chart the way forward for the beleaguered people, the state governor Malam Nasir el-Rufai said his administration would find a lasting solution to the problem, adding that there is need to keep talking to the constituent groups in the region.

    Professor Yusuf Turaki, a former Secretary General of the Evangelical Church of West Africa now called Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), said rebuilding the ruined homes of the people would do a lot in rehabilitating and reassuring them.

    They were speaking at a forum organised by the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD) in collaboration with Canadian and Kaduna State government.

    In the last two years, the area has witnessed series of bloody invasions that have killed hundreds of innocent men, women and children, leaving several communities in ruins.

    The event was organised as part of the efforts to find lasting peace in the area.

    Governor el-Rufai, represented by his Deputy, Mr. Barnabas Bala Bantex, said that “sustained dialogue between various ethnic groups in the state will create mutual trust and understanding, respect, tolerance and acceptance among the people, thus leading to peaceful co-existence and socio-economic advancement.”

    He stressed that until people choose to live in peace with one another, harmonious coexistence cannot be achieved, hence the need for concerted efforts by all stakeholders to be more committed to the cause. He reiterated his earlier promise to support any initiative aimed at enhancing harmony in the state and urged the people to rally round the administration to guarantee the achievement of set goals.

    Professor Turaki said peace is a necessary ingredient in human relationships while greed, injustice, prejudices, discrimination and stereotyping destroy good relationship. Lamenting the reign of terror that has pervaded the area in the recent past, he said he believes that since the federal government considers rebuilding the houses destroyed in the Northeast by the insurgents, a similar gesture should be extended to communities in southern Kaduna.

    He urged the elite in the area to take the challenge of contributing to the development of their communities.

    The scholar and clergyman said such a gesture could be a sure way of ensuring true reconciliation and healing the wounds, adding that many houses have been damaged in various night attacks since 2011.

    He said: “The state government should consider the plight of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). This should be with a view to re-constructing their destroyed homes and establishing a Permanent Re-conciliation Commission, following the recommendation of the Yakowa and the Agwai peace committee reports. The elites must take the challenges of contributing their quota in the development of their respective communities.”

    The Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Perry CalderWood was impressed by the quality of representation from the various communities in the area and assured that the Canadian government would continue to support peace building processes in conflict areas.

    The Senior Advisor for African Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, David Lambo, who was represented by Dr. Yakubu Sankey Adviser said for the next six months, the centre would serve as a neutral facilitator of an inter-communal dialogue process between communities in southern Kaduna, especially those in Jema’a, Kaura, Sanga and Zangon Kataf Local Government Areas of Kaduna State which has been mostly affected by frequent clashes in recent times. He explained that the centre hope to achieve great results just like was done in Plateau state where they have achieved maximum peace. Several tribes in Plateau state were part of the dialogue as a way of proving that they have achieved lasting peace in the state.

    “This is just as it was done on the Plateau, which is yielding encouraging dividends,” Sankey said.

     

  • Six killed in soldiers, worshippers clash in Southern Kaduna

    A clash  between some military men and some worshippers in Southern Kaduna yesterday led to the death of no fewer than six people. Many others were injured.

    The soldiers allegedly shot  security guards of St. Peters Catholic Church Gidan-Waya area of Jama’a local government in Kaduna State who mounted a temporary stop and search check point in front of their church during service.

    According to a man who simply identified himself as Christopher, a residence of Gidan-Waya, “the clash occured at about 10am when church service was on. A soldier approched the church’s watch men popularly known as Cadet and ordered them to dismantle the temporary check point during the church service, but the boys refused the order on the argument that church service was ongoing and that they would do as soon as service was over, but the soldier was dissatisfied with the explanation.

    The soldier reportedly went back and mobilised his colleagues who came and started firing at the local guards.

    “The gunshots ended the church service. Women and youths immediately reacted to the shooting by confronting the soldiers as a result of which one Soldier and three civilians were injured,” said Christopher.

    The situation led to a clash between residents and soldiers.

    Another eye witness said a block of flat at a staff quarters belonging to Kaduna State college of Education Gidan- Waya occupied by the military personnel, was burnt with two guns carted away.

    According to a resident who identified himself as Bulbs Jatau: “Six people were killed, a flat occupied by some army personnel burnt while many people were injured.”

    Similarly, a lecturer at the college who pleaded anonymity said a 200-level student was among the people killed by bullets.

    “A soldier has a motorcycle he uses as a means of transportion. The cadet boys manning the Church during Mass had told him that each time there is Church programme, he should not increase the acceleration of his motorcycle but he refused to abide by what the boys told him.

    “Today, he was passing during church Mass and the road was closed. He started shouting at the boys asking why they blocked the road, as the argument was ongoing, he returned to a check-point and mobilised other army personnel and they came shooting.

    “As they were shooting, a certain man coming back from another church was hit by the bullet and he died instantly. One of the cadet boys was shot but he died at a hospital,” said the lecture.

    Another eyes witness said youth and women of the community were protesting naked, mobile policemen were mobilised from Kafanchan shot tear-gas to disperse the protesters.

    “The incident also turned violent as four people also dropped dead when the protesters blocked all roads leading to Abuja, Jos and Kafanchan in protest of the killing. All the checkpoints in the area have been dismantled and the military men have been withdrawn to Kafanchan. The soldiers have told the traditional ruler that they will come back in the night to search for their guns,” another resident told our correspondent.

    Spokesman of the 1 Mechanised Division, Kaduna, Col. Abdul Usman did not respond to calls and text message as at the time of filling this report.

    Survivors of the clash are receiving medical attention at a State General Hospital.

  • Southern Kaduna Christians oppose ‘political deceit’

    Prominent religious leaders, under the aegis of Southern Kaduna Christian Leaders Council (SKCLC), led by Bishop Joseph Danlami Bagobiri, at the weekend vowed to fight political deceit and injustice being meted out to the people ahead of the 2015 general elections.

    They also said promised to mobilise their followers to vote for only credible and competent candidates who would address fundamental issues without recourse to political parties and other inclinations.

    The religious leaders stated their position at the Southern Kaduna Prayer Summit in Kafanchan,  the political headquarters of the area.

    Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) former National President Prof Yusufu Turaki said: “I stand here to speak on behalf of Southern Kaduna Leaders Council and also on behalf of the majority of our people and Southern Kaduna in general. The rallying cry, groaning and yearnings of our people can be summarised in few words: the quest for socio-political and economic emancipation. Our sons in particular have been involved in politics since independence but with no tangible, visible and enduring results.

    “In recent times, we have suffered too many political setbacks. One in particular worth mentioning is the death of Sir Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa. Since our sons and daughters have lost their political bearings and relevance, we are now being compelled to chart a new political path for our people.

    “We must change the political game and bring our people to the centre stage of politics so that they can become the centrepiece of our current politics. We no longer trust our politicians.”

    Turaki, who is one of the leading African theologians, added: “We are no longer interested in any political slogans or political posters or political money bags, but only real political stuff for our people. We are no longer interested in hearing political stories and lies of politicians. Rather, we want to be listened to.”

  • Hausa/Fulani give conditions to return to Southern Kaduna

    Fulani and Hausa people, who were displaced by the 2011 post-election crisis at Zango Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State, have agreed to return, but with conditions.

    Speaking at a town hall meeting at the Zango-Kataf Council Secretariat, organised by the Interfaith Mediation Centre at the weekend, Sarkin Hausawa, Zonkwa, Alhaji Uba Ado said the government must tighten security and rebuild all houses burnt during the crisis before they return.

    He said for peace to reign, the natives of Zango-Kataf and neighbouring areas must accommodate settlers and shun inciting statements.

    Ado said: “A situation where the natives openly call us settlers is degrading and unacceptable.”

    The paramount Chief of Zango-Kataf, Harrison Bugon, assured the Fulani and Hausa of security.

    The Director of Intervention, Interfaith Mediation Centre, Imam Mohammed Sani, urged the natives and non-natives to reach an agreement that would ensure peaceful coexistence.

    Expressing joy that the displaced persons agreed to return to Zango-Kataf after two years, Sani said: “This is the essence of the meeting. We are happy that our efforts to ensure relative peace achieved in Southern Kaduna has yielded positive result.”

    He urged people of various faiths to respect and tolerate one another.

  • Searching for peace in Southern Kaduna

    Searching for peace in Southern Kaduna

    In the comfort of the conference hall of the General Hassan Usman Katsina House popularly known as State House in Kaduna, the Michael Zuokumor-led peace committee engaged leaders of the Southern Kaduna people and the Fulani for two days. What were they discussing? How to end attacks on Southern Kaduna communities that have left several people dead in midnight attacks. Present at the meeting were various Fulani organisations as well as leaders of the communities that recently came under attack.

    Many others who have been attacked in the past or who still stand the risk of being attacked were left out.

    That did not go down well with Governor Mukthar Yero who told members of the committee that they should be holding the meeting in the villages affected by the attacks and not in the comfort of air conditioned conference all. Yero believes that holding the meeting in Kaura would have been the best option as it will give the victims the feeling that something positive was being done about their plight.

    Yero told the committee that they should make efforts to actively engage the local people in their assignment, pointing out that it is only through active interaction with those directly affected that the panel can identify the true causes as well as solutions to the crises. He noted that “the crisis is not about religion or ethnicity. It is being engineered by some people using religion just in their selfish interests adding that rather than hold reconciliation meetings with elites who are the ones escalating the situation for selfish aims, “the meeting should have been held in Kaura and other affected communities in order to involve people at the grassroots, so that you can sit down with the natives and Fulanis to resolve the matter.”

    Rather than listen to the opinion of the governor and possibly visit the scene of the attacks, the committee sat and held discussion with the supposed aggressors and victims. Interestingly, while the southern Kaduna people have consistently accused the fulanis of being the ones attacking their villages (about 37 of such attacks have taken place since 2011), the Fulanis have never agreed that they were responsible for such attacks.

    This explains why a coalition of civil societies and non-governmental organisations in the area are not comfortable with the meeting and the agreement that came out of it. Zuwaghu Bonat of the Southern Kaduna Development Associations Forum question the rationale for the meeting.

    He said, “are they telling us that the Fulanis that were there and purportedly signed the cease fire agreed that they were the ones killing our people? Did they agree that they are the ones killing our people? We need to know that categorically because if they are the ones killing our people, did they explain why they are killing our people? We never attacked them, but they say warring parties and we know that there is nothing like warring parties because we are not fighting with anybody.

    Therefore the question of signing a ceasefire does not arise. It is just another round of politics as far as we are concerned”.

    He is also not comfortable with holding the meeting without those he called the critical stakeholders who are supposed to be part of a peace deal if there will be anything like that. However, at the end of the meeting, leaders of the two groups allegedly agreed to a ceasefire even though many people in southern Kaduna, especially the youth does not believe that there is anything like cease fire since according to them, “we are not fighting anybody”.

    Zakari Sogfa, a former Commissioner for Justice in Kaduna State and coordinator of the CSO/CBO said they have every cause to believe that the “so called agreement” will not stand the test of time. According to him, “southern Kaduna is not the only place where they have signed such peace agreement. In Benue state, they did that and the following day, what happened? You cant abandon your basic responsibility as security forces and rely on peace and mediation to take over the constitutional role you are supposed to play. If I were at the meeting, I would have asked the DIG what guarantee he is giving the people to fall back on. How are we sure that if we sign this, worse things will not arise the following day like it happened in other places? The reports of peace and reconciliation meetings they have had in the past, why have they not implemented them? As we have stated, we are not fighting fulanis. It is the fulanis that are fighting us and the government has misunderstood it. It is not an issue of conflict, but an issue of genocide. The hypothesis here is that a group of people are bent on exterminating a section of the country and they are doing that with ferocity ad you are saying that the remedy is a peace meeting between the two sides. That is ridiculous. What you must do is to stop the carnage first and investigate to find out what is happening. Are you saying that if they kill my people, I should go and attend a peace meeting with those who are killing my people? The blood of those killed is crying out for justice and the justice the state can offer them is to call them to government house and humiliate them into signing an agreement. When was it prepared, who negotiated it, what are the terms? How can an agreement be binding on a people who are unaware of the terms and conditions?

     

  • Yero: attacks linked to post-election violence

    Kaduna State Governor Mukthar Yero said yesterday that the attacks in Southern Kaduna are not unconnected with the aftermath of the 2011 post-election violence.

    Yero spoke when he presented cheques to religious bodies and warned against reprisal attacks.

    He said: “If anything happens and we say we must revenge and then the other people say they must also take vengeance, the situation will never end.

    “We must be patient and always support government in its efforts to prosecute those who are behind criminal activities.”

    The governor said the state would receive N7 billion from the Federal Government as its share of compensation for victims of the 2011 post-election violence,saying Kaduna is the worse hit in the violence”.

    “Both Muslims and Christians suffered losses and it is still the aftermath of that crisis that is following us due to reprisals and vengeance.

    “We have been following the Federal Government and it has now completed the verification and came up with over N7 billion as compensation to victims in Kaduna.

    “We are not the only state that has not been paid, but I have been assured that the fund is captured in the 2014 budget, which has not been passed. We shall continue to pursue this money until it is paid.

    “The most important thing for us now is how to forestall a recurrence because no amount of money can bring back our loved ones.

    “From today, we are going to ensure that the people always mix. Whatever we are going to do in this state we must sit together as brothers, irrespective of tribe or religion.

    “Whether we like it or not, God has already brought us together and we must tolerate one another because we must live together.”

    Yero said the assistance was meant to support the religious bodies to carry out their activities as well as assist them in building places of worship and learning centres.

    He said his administration would sustain lasting peace that would lead to reintegration of the diverse groups.

    The governor told the religious leaders to caution against do-or-die politics.

  • Forget our votes in 2015, Southern Kaduna tells PDP

    Nouthern Kaduna indigenes have said they will vote against President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015.

    They said this was to protest the continued killing of their kinsmen by Fulani herdsmen.

    They accused the PDP-led government of insensitivity. The people said although they voted for Jonathan in 2011, the President and Vice President Namadi Sambo had not visited the area or sent a delegation.

    Addressing a briefing in Kaduna under the aegis of Concerned Realists of Southern Kaduna, their spokesman, John Danfulani, accused the Presidency of not caring about their welfare.

    He said: “We have observed that these killings started after the 2011 presidential election. Hundreds of our people have been killed, farmlands destroyed, families and communities displaced.

    “Sambo is a former governor but the Federal Government, which he is a part of, has not shown any concern. There has not been even a whimper of sympathy from the Presidency.

    “The vice president has never visited or sent relief materials to any of the victims in the over 51 times that we have been attacked. Even when he visits Kaduna, he only stays in Zaria and receives crowds from Northwestern states.

    “We will mobilise our people to vote against President Goodluck Jonathan, Namadi Sambo and Governor Ramalan Yero in 2015.

    “As for elected representatives of Southern Kaduna origin, this is just the beginning. We will x-ray everyone. No one should attempt to ask for votes, if he/she cannot present our challenges to the government he belongs to.”

  • Protest in Southern Kaduna over killings

    Protest in Southern Kaduna over killings

    The people of Southern Kaduna yesterday held a rally and prayer session to protest the killing of about 120 persons in three villages.

    The Nation gathered that the prayer session, which was initially scheduled for Tuesday, was postponed when the police arrested three leaders of the youth wing of the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), organisers of the event.

    Those arrested included the National Youth leader of SOKAPU, Sebastine Luka, and three of his officials, who were reportedly detained for four hours before they were released.

    It was also gathered the arrest of the youths, who had gone to seek police protection for the event, generated anger and anxiety among their colleagues, who threatened to storm the police command headquarters.

    Speaking with reporters after his release, Luka said: “The police commissioner invited us to his office. He told us he heard we were planning a prayer session and told us it was dangerous for Kaduna town at this time, and ordered our detention.

    “We were kept behind bars for four hours. Then he said we should be brought out, gave us a document to sign promising we would not hold any prayer session in Kaduna. But we refused. After a while, he said we should go.”

    About 15 trucks of mobile policemen watched at the Bajju town hall where the prayer session took place. Two armoured tanks and two police vans were also patrolling the area.

    The protesters wore black, lit candles and carried a mock coffin. Many others carried placards of various messages.

    SOKAPU President Ephraim Goje told the gathering the union was disappointed with the war against the people.

    Goje said: “We did not know this government has so much arms and personnel. We are shocked these armed policemen and soldiers cannot go to Kaura and protect life and property, but converge here against peaceful worshipers.

    “Six hundred people have been killed in 54 raids in Southern Kaduna since 2011. It is as if there is no government at all. We condemn this insensitivity and we call on the Federal Government to relocate a battalion of soldiers to Kaura Local Government before it is too late. The genocide in Southern Kaduna must stop.”

    Former Commissioner for Justice Adamu Kish said: “The show of arms against a peaceful people praying to their God for intervention is an arrogant violation of their rights to gather and worship and even peacefully protest.

    “This is not a mark of civility, and it must be condemned. Our youths who were detained yesterday should be briefing their lawyers now for legal redress.”

    Also yesterday, Governor Ramalan Yero, who met traditional rulers, said the government would not watch hoodlums wreak havoc on the state.

    Addressing the monrachs at an emergency meeting at the Government House, the governor said the government was not happy about the attacks.

    He assured them the state was working with security agents to ensure the issue was brought under control.

    Yero said: “I invited you as traditional leaders because of the attacks in Moroa Chiefdom in Kaura Local Government Area and other similar attacks in Brinin Gwari and Giwa.

    “If we allow such attacks to go on without taking any measures, it could lead to a breakdown of security and we will not allow that to happen.

    “As traditional rulers, you have a role to play because we are under your rule.”

    The Chairman of the State Council of Chiefs and Emir of Zazzau, Shehu Idris, said: “Such unwarranted acts of wickedness can bring calamity upon the society. We must forge greater unity among ourselves because we are one.”

  • 30 feared dead in Kaduna attacks

    At least 30 people have been reportedly killed and three villages completely razed down by gunmen suspected to be Fulani militia in Zangan, zandyen and Azing villages in Kaura local government area of Kaduna State.

    But the police in the state had refused to comment on the incident just as the state Commissioner of Police, Olufemi Adenaike, asked reporters to wait till Wednesday when he will address a press conference on the development.

    The police boss said “please wait till tomorrow. I will address a press conference tomorrow to give you details, otherwise, you will be writing a half story. They information is coming in bits.”

    A resident of the area, Bulus Gwaza, who spoke with journalists on phone from the area, said the gunmen came in a large number and started shooting indiscriminately, thereby causing confusion and commotion.

    He said “Right now, we have buried over 30 dead bodies and we are still looking for more in the three villages. Not a single house is standing now as I am speaking to you. They killed one policeman and one soldier. In fact the soldiers have to run because of the guns that they have and their numbers. There are nobody in these villages, except some of us looking for bodies to bury. Please tell government to come to our help.”

    Although details of the attack were sketchy at press time, it was gathered that the villages attacked are located in the border between Kaduna and Plateau, while one soldier said to be attached to the Joint Task Force in Plateau was killed and another injured.

    Reacting to the development, the Center for Development and Rights Advocacy (CEDRA) asked the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in Kaduna State as the only means of securing Southern Kaduna from such attacks.