Indigenes accuse federal, state governments of complicity in Kaduna killings
Police murder suspected bandit in Kaduna
The Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) has accused the federal and state governments of alleged complicity in the killings by bandits and terrorists in the various communities that make up the area in recent times.
It, therefore, urged the international community to save the affected settlements from “complete extermination.”In a communiqué issued yesterday by its president, Jonathan Asake, the group indicted President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Nasir El-Rufai for alleged double standard in dealing with the humanitarian crisis arising from the attacks and killings in concerned communities.
According to Asake, an ex-lawmaker, “the killings and attacks in Southern Kaduna have been under-reported by the media, as SOKAPU is already compiling the records which would released to the world soon.”
Asake alleged: “Against the backdrop of the recurring killings and massive destruction of property that are being neglected by the Kaduna State Governor and security agencies of the Federal Government, SOKAPU wishes to let the world know that our communities are under siege and marked for complete annihilation.
“We feel very strongly that the silence of the Kaduna State government on the unending massacres of our people is not only suggestive of complicity, but also a well-crafted ploy to obliterate our communities.”
He added: “We call on the world and Nigerians to be aware of the double standard being employed by the Kaduna State Governor in dealing with victims of these vicious attacks,” noting: “In spite of the massive humanitarian crisis created by these invasions, the Kaduna State government has not found reason to visit the invaded communities or even set up IDP camps to provide assistance either from the government or good spirited individuals and organisations.”
Asake further said: “the attention of SOKAPU has been drawn to the recent sympathy visit by Governor Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai to attacked communities in Igabi and Giwa LGAs that resulted in the death of no fewer than 51 persons. During the trip, the governor, apart from vowing to deal with the bandits, also apologised to the communities over inability of government to protect them.
“Could this present apology be premised on rhetoric calculated at achieving some political agenda rather than expressing genuine sympathy?”
However, efforts to get official reactions to the allegations were futile.
The several calls put through to the mobile line of the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Muyiwa Adekeye, were neither picked nor returned as at press time.
But the state Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) chairman, Reverend Joseph Hayab, in a statement, nevertheless commended the governor for “owning up to the lapses of government under the prevailing insecurity in the state.”
In a similar vein, the Katsina Police Command at the weekend killed a suspected member of a notorious armed group during a gun duel.The deceased, Tukur Atti and aged 25, was resident of Ummadu, Zakka village in Safana council area of the state. He was executed at about 11.30pm after his gang raided Yakassai village in Kurfi Local Council.
The command’s spokesman, SP Gambo Isah who confirmed the incident in a statement yesterday in Katsina, added that the force had also arrested a 27-year-old man, Shafi’u Haruna, for allegedly killing his 14-year-old pregnant girlfriend, Hamsiya Lawal, last December at Birdigau village in Kankara council area.
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