Killings: Residents Flee Southern Kaduna Communities

BY STEPHEN BULUS, KAFANCHAN – Following what seems like coordinated attacks on communities that led to the killings of no fewer than 27 persons and the abduction of 10 others at the weekend in Southern Kaduna, the gruesome massacre of another 11 persons in Gora Gan village in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area on Tuesday has led to rising tension as residents are fleeing their communities in droves.
Inhabitants of Takau village in Kafanchan, Jema’a Local Government Area, this evening, according to a resident who pleaded anonymity, repelled an attack launched on them by bandits, igniting fears that the town may come under threat of an imminent assault.
According to the resident who confirmed that the bandits launched an attack on the town but were repelled by youths, residents of the town, comprising women and children, have now relocated to safer sections of Kafanchan town for fear of impending attack.
Similarly, fear-stricken residents, according to another source, are fleeing their homes in Boto, Kamuru-Ikulu and Unguwar Giwa all in Ikulu Chiefdom in Zangon Kataf LGA.
“Through the intervention of a prominent Ladduga resident, some cows that were rustled in Boto by the Goran Gan attackers had been returned to their owners.
“Fright has taken over the hearts of the people as they are fleeing their towns and relocating to areas that are safer. Kachia and Zonkwa are now cities of refuge for these panicky inhabitants. The raging fear of insecurity is preventing many farmers to return to farms as they are terrified for their lives. If something is not done immediately, starvation looms due to scarcity of food supply,” disclosed the source.
Forefront reliably gathered that security agents deployed to keep the peace are finding it difficult to maintain effective watch due to absence of adequate boots on the ground.
“The truth is that the security personnel are overstretched as there are fewer boots on the ground to arrest the security situation. Compared with the urgent demand of reining in these blood-thirsty killers, something drastic must be done to avert a catastrophe and ensure effective security surveillance of the area.
“Besides appealing to scared villagers to assist security agencies with relevant information to maintain law and order, there is need for additional deployments of more boots on the ground to meet the challenges of keeping the peace,” a source privy to the worsening security situation in the affected areas disclosed.
A top government source in Kaduna said all hands are on deck to return attacked and tension-soaked areas to normalcy.
“It is not true that the Kaduna State Government is not doing anything. As I speak with you, security agents are maintaining a 24-hour surveillance on key towns and villages to avert further attacks by bandits. The security employees are not resting on their oars. We appeal to people to exercise patience and cooperate with security personnel in order to survive these trying times,” the source said.
On Tuesday, the presidency hinged the upsurge in the spate of massacres in Southern Kaduna on revenge killings, using ethnic and religious factors. In a statement signed by presidential spokesman Malam Shehu Garba, the presidency noted that the southern Kaduna killings have persisted due to the “evil combination of politically-motivated banditry, revenge killings and mutual violence by criminal gangs acting on ethnic and religious grounds.”