Killings: Call el-Rufai To Order – Southern Kaduna Elders Urge Buhari

BY SEGUN ADEBAYO, ABUJA – The Southern Kaduna Elders Forum (SOKAF) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to as a matter of urgent necessity, call Governor Nasir El-Rufai to order over his deliberate attempt to twist fact regarding the killings in Southern Kaduna.

The Forum led by a former military governor of Rivers state, Major General Zamani Lekwot (Retd), noted that what is more is the fact that Governor el-Rufai once publicly confirmed the knowledge of where the bandits come from and even paid them money to stop the killings which still persists on a massive scale.

The elders noted that in all, the heartless destruction of lives and property in Chikun, Kajuru Zangon Kataf, Kauru, Kaura, Sanga and Jema’a LGAs, despite the curfew, is a serious embarrassment which should worry the power that be.

It also stated that the time for government to justify the confidence reposed in it by the people is therefore, overdue, adding that the killings and destruction of crops as well as houses in the area has reached an unacceptable proportion.

The Southern Kaduna elders said that as elders of the area and indeed Kaduna state, they are greatly disturbed by the unfolding tragedy ripping across their land.

The Forum members said; “We cannot, therefore, afford to continue sitting and folding our arms in the face of the violence that portends a bleak future for future generations.”

The Southern Kaduna elders in a statement on Tuesday, declared that they can no longer continue to sit and fold their arms in the face of continued violence that portends a bleak future for generations yet unborn.

The statement further states; “As everyone knows, in their oaths of office, Mr. President and all the 36 state governors undertook to create a conducive environment for the peaceful co-existence of all citizens irrespective of creed, religious or ethnic, to ensure a seamless development and healthy growth of our country, given the fact that we have lived together in an integrated and symbiotic manner until the brutal invasion of our communities by those who government have come to confirm as foreign Fulani.

“What is happening in Southern Kaduna today and by extension some states of the federation is at variance with the above laudable objective.

“More troops and equipment should be deployed to Southern Kaduna to battle the situation urgently just as was done in Birnin Gwari and Katsina State,” they said.

The elders commended the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), an umbrella body for ethnic nationalities in the area, saying: “We have come to acknowledge SOKAPU as the voice and hope for Southern Kaduna. And we call on our people to support SOKAPU for the good work it has been doing.

The elders particularly appealed to President Buhari to urgently intervene in a more effective way, given the magnitude and rapid spread of the killings especially in the past five weeks, in spite of the 24 hours curfew imposed by Governor el-Rufai.