Kaduna relaxes curfew in Zangon-Kataf

•Maikori Apologises For Hoax Killings
•PFN Condemns President’s Silence Over Worrisome Deaths
•Buratai Pledges Neutrality Of Nigerian Army

Following the gradual return of peace to the troubled Southern Kaduna, the state government has relaxed the 24-hour curfew imposed on Zangon-Kataf Local Council of Kaduna State.

This is as the chief executive officer of Chocolate City, Lagos State, Audu Maikori, who is an indigene of the area, has apologised for tweeting about the alleged killing of five students of the College of Education, Gidan Waya, Kafanchan, by Fulani herdsmen.

Media aide to Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Samuel Aruwan, in a statement, yesterday, said that the 24-hour curfew has been relaxed, and it “is now in effect only between 6pm and 6am every day.”

According to him, the Kaduna State Security Council took the decision to relax the curfew following a review of the situation in the affected council.
Maikori, remarked that after the school and the state government refuted the alleged killings, he decided to further investigate the story in order to present the evidence to the authorities.

Things, however, took a different turn after his driver, who claimed his younger brother was one of the victims, failed to, upon his return from the purported burial, provide the deceased’s identity card and pictures of the casket to enable him (Maikori) buttress his claim, and clear his name.

“The long and short of this is that on February 2, 2017, I went in company of his relative to the Lekki Police Station for questioning after his inability to provide any concrete evidence of the death of his brother and fellow students.”

Meanwhile, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has condemned the killings of Christians in Southern Kaduna, just as it maintains that President Muhammadu Buhari, has kept silence over the killings for so long.

The body, however, commended the efforts of Federal Government in its fight against insurgency, stating that the menace of the Fulani herdsman could prove to be worse than Boko Haram.

Speaking at a conference in Lagos on the state of the nation, Chairman, PFN, Lagos Chapter, Bishop Sola Ore, said: “We are left with no alternative than to conclude that there is something in the offing that is not clear to many Nigerians. What is happening in Southern Kaduna presently is worrisome, to say the least.

“Who has been prosecuted for the killings of innocent lives in Kaduna if I may ask? Who has been sent to jail? As a matter of fact, which of the Boko Haram insurgents has been prosecuted? Is this government saying it does not know the masterminds of these dastardly acts?” he queried.

The chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, has said that the army, which is in Southern Kaduna to restore peace would not take sides in the conflict.

The Army chief made this known when he paid courtesy visits to the Chief of Kagoro, Ufuwai Bonet and Emir of Jema’a, Alhaji Muhammad Isah at their palaces, yester. He said: “We are not going to spare anyone that is fomenting trouble in the area, no matter his standing.”