Southern Kaduna Killings Is Genocide, Not Communal Clashes – SOKAPU Insists
BY SAMUEL ADEBAYO IN KADUNA – The Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) on Sunday insisted that what is taking place in the southern part of Kaduna State is a pure act of genocide aimed at wiping out the indigenous people of the area with the sole aim of taking over their lands.
This is as SOKAPU which is the umbrella body of Southern Kaduna people, called on Nigerians and members of the international community to rise up and save not only Southern Kaduna but humanity.
Speaking at the 2nd Black Sunday organised by the Kaduna State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) at ECWA GoodNews Church. Narayi High Cost in Kaduna, the National President of SOKAPU, Hon Jonathan Asake faulted claims by the commander of the Operation Safe Haven, Major General Chukwuemeka Okonkwo that the killings were communal killings involving Atyap youths and Fulani militia.
In the words of Asake, “We have seen attacks in Kajuru and Chikun LGAs, including Kauru, Kachia and Sanga, among others. Are all these attacks involving Atyap youths and Fulani? The truth is that there is a grand ploy to massacre our people and dispossess them of their ancestral lands.”
On the allegation that the killings are premised on farmers/herders’ clashes, the SOKAPU leader responded, “There is no greater lie than the narrative that the killings in Southern Kaduna are hinged on clashes between farmers and herders. When you consider that over 75 percent of the victims of the attacks are children and women, then you will understand that since women and children are not farmers, we cannot accept the narrative of a clash between two groups.
“Victims of these attacks are killed in the night and far away from farms. The earlier we come to accept the fact that these killings unleashed on our people are aimed at wiping our communities, the better for us in understanding the real motives behind these massacres.”
On the recent challenge thrown to Southern Kaduna monarchs by Governor Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai to point at villages and towns seized by invaders, Asake referred the governor to several sacked towns and villages in Chikun and Kajuru local government areas of the state.
“We were at the Kala IDP camp in Kajuru just yesterday, being Saturday, August 8, 2020, where no fewer than 3, 000 persons are presently taking refuge after being sacked from their towns and villages.
“Is it the murdered Agwom Adara that should take up the challenge and point out these villages and towns that are being presently occupied by invaders? SOKAPU has come up with a list of towns and villages under occupation by these vicious attackers and the various IDP camps where members of these sacked communities are taking refuge.
“The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders’ Forum (SMBLF) were in some of the IDP camps and they heard pathetic stories from the victims of these attacks.
“I call on Nigerians and members of the international community to rise up and save not only Southern Kaduna but humanity,” Asake pleaded.
