Zango residents deny habouring bandits

People of Zangon Community in Zangon-Kataf Local Council of Kaduna State have denied the allegation that their community was habouring bandits terrorising neighbouring communities.

Members of Zango Urban Development Association (ZUDA) described the allegation by the Atyap people as baseless and malicious.

National Chairman of ZUDA, Shehu Abdullahi, stated that the allegation was so weighty and capable of creating animosity, tension and suspicion among the inhabitants of the area and their closest neighbours.

He, however, called on the Kaduna State Government to intervene in the matter by investigating it and deploy more security personnel to the area.

“The attention of ZUDA has been drawn to a baseless, unsubstantiated and malicious statement issued by the Atyap Community Development Association (ACDA), which was made public by its immediate past president, Silas Adamu, on Monday March 8, 2021 describing Zango Urban as the hideout for bandits.

“As law-abiding citizens and a peace-loving community whose fundamental human rights to live and own property under section 33 and 43 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 has been infringed upon by our neighbour in several occasions and at any slightest opportunity since 1992, felt that it’s necessary to clear the air on this issue by debunking this allegation to prevent further breakdown of law and order in our area,” he said.

According to him, the people of Zango Urban Community are known all over the world to be peace-loving, accommodative and highly industrious.

“We have never, in our history, attacked or attempted to attack the Atyap (Kataf) or commuters on the road. Findings of various panels of inquiry are there to verify our claim. The world knows that our community had been invaded and attacked by the Atyap militants.

“History had it that Zango Urban had been deserted in several occasions even prior to 1992 genocide due to the repeated humongous jostling of Atyap people (Kataf) in their efforts to obliterate the whole of Zango Urban from the surface of the earth.”