Southern Kaduna monarch warns against illegal mining, land sale

Worried by wanton destruction of life and property in Southern Kaduna, the traditional ruler of Arak Chiefdom in Sanga Local Council, Kaduna State, has warned his subjects against indiscriminate sale of lands, illegal mining and other acts capable of sparking crisis in the area.

The Atum Arak, Brig-Gen. Iliya Aliyu Yammah (rtd), made this known at a town hall meeting in Arak. Decisions taken at the meeting include the need to properly document sale of land, constitute local vigilante group in all villages, compile all retired military and a paramilitary personnel as well as issues around illegal mining.

He asserted that the causes of crises in parts of the state and elsewhere included illegal mining, on which the state government declared zero tolerance.

Those decisions taken at the meeting to ensure peace were, however, misunderstood by some persons, who petitioned the paramount ruler, indicting him of recruiting retired military personnel to kill the Fulani and deny them access to land.

The petition created tension, as the Fulani in the area started circulating threat messages around their Nasarawa neighbourhood of possible attack.

Yammah, who expressed surprise over the petition, wondered why a few persons could be so mean to create war at the peak of the peace building process.

“At the town hall meeting, the district, village and ward heads agreed with Fulani leaders on how to ensure lasting peace. But to my greatest shock, some individuals wrote a petition to the state government, accusing me of baseless issues, just to create tension and unnecessary crisis.

“In this political season, I appeal to all to be wary of acts capable of causing conflict. We have seen the danger of war and the place of peace in development,” the royal father stated.

Consequently, the Area Commander of Kafanchan, Danladi Ibrahim, summoned the aggrieved parties to a town hall meeting at Gwantu, Sanga Local Council, yesterday.

At the end of the meeting, which the petitioner did not attend, Ibrahim, who presided over the meeting, said the petition was baseless and lacked substance.

The Guardian gathered that the petitioner refused to appear at the meeting for fear of arrest, alleging that he was pressured by some government officials to write the petition.

Danladi appealed to the Fulani and the farmers to continue to live in peace and report any friction to security agents.