Kaduna government, Igbo leaders dismiss rumour of attack, killings

• Fulani Cattle Breeders Warn Against Fresh Southern Kaduna Crisis
The Kaduna State Government and the Igbo community leaders yesterday condemned reports of an attack on the Igbos relocating to eastern states following the October 1 ultimatum given by northern youths.

The government officials, top security personnel and Igbo leaders in the state, while addressing journalists, debunked inciting pictures and audio messages circulating in the state on how several Igbos retuning to the Southeast were allegedly ambushed in a luxurious bus conveying them.

The Senior Assistance on Media and Publicity to Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Samuel Aruwan, and Igbo leaders, led by the President of Igbo Community Welfare Association, Chief Chris Nnoli, quickly moved to avert the consequences the unverified report could generate.

Aruwan said: “The attention of Kaduna State Government has been drawn to an inciting picture and audio message stating that some Igbos relocating to eastern Nigeria were ambushed and killed in Kaduna State.

“The man behind the mischievous narrative, who also claimed to be at the scene, went on to lie that the attackers slaughtered Igbos, including women and children, and that their corpses were burnt along with the luxurious bus.

“The so-called eyewitness then appealed to all Igbos residing in Kaduna and the rest of the North to relocate to their states of origin and to also avoid travelling en-masse, considering mass killings that await them in the north.

“It is clear that some dark forces are bent on sowing and creating panic in our communities.”On the stand of the state government, Aruwan said: “As you can see, we are here with the leadership of the Igbo community in Kaduna, Zaria, Kafanchan and other places.

“The story is entirely false and mischievous. The Igbo community is safe, like all our communities. Nobody is being attacked and nobody is relocating in fear. “The Kaduna State Government under the leadership of El-Rufai will continue to uphold and defend the rights of every resident of the state to live in peace. Our state is a safe place for all that choose to call it home.”

Besides, Nnoli urged all Igbos resident in the state to disregard the rumour, assuring that no Igbo man, woman or children were attacked in the state.He called on Igbo community in the state not to panic, urging them to go about their legitimate activities in Kaduna State.

Meanwhile, members of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) have said unknown gunmen have attacked and amputated a Fulani herdsman, thereby threatening the fragile peace in the area.

Addressing a press conference in Kaduna, yesterday, state Chairman of MACBAN, Alhaji Haruna Usman Tugga, said the attack was a setback to the prevailing peace in the area.Tugga gave the name of the amputee as Abubakar Muhammed, who he noted was migrating from Panda village in Nasarawa State to Kachia in Southern Kaduna when he was attacked by youths from Maho village under Mazuga district.

He stated: “They attacked him along a migratory stock route for reasons best known to the attackers and amputated his left hand and left him bleeding in a pool of his blood. “He was picked by a Good Samaritan to a private hospital in Kachia town, where he is presently receiving medical attention.

“We condemn this inhuman and barbaric act. We are also calling on our people to be calm and law- abiding. We call on the security agencies to investigate the matter and apprehend the attackers.”

As part of efforts to promote religious harmony and peaceful coexistence in the state, the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) Church on Lemu road, Kaduna, has distributed food items to Muslims within their host community in Tudun Nupawa in the spirit of the Ramadan season.

Rev. Jonathan Emmanuel, while making the distribution, said it has always been annual and is normally carried out during the Ramadan period to assist Muslim faithful during their fast.“This is our way of showing love to our neighbours during this period of fasting. We hope to sustain it on a yearly basis, God willing.

“What we are distributing to them may be small, but it is a show of our togetherness and love and as a way of fostering religious harmony and peaceful coexistence.”
Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, the village head of Tudun Nupawa, Alhaji Shuaibu Balarabe Abdullahi, commended the church for annually remembering them, particularly during the Ramadan fast, with food items.

He prayed God to bless the church and assured them of an enabling environment for them to worship their God now and always without any form of molestation from anybody or group.