Stop Forces Behind Kajuru Killings Now – Group Tells FG, el-Rufai

BY COBHAM NSA, ABUJA – The Coalition Against Kajuru Killings (CAKKs) has fingered what it described as powerful forces for the culture of death, barbaric attacks and massive destruction that have become a constant feature in Birnin Gwari, Kajuru and most communities in Southern Kaduna.

According to the Coalition only decisive actions by both the Federal and Kaduna State governments can assuage frayed nerves and convinced many that there is no official complicity in the on-going mass killings of innocent people in Kaduna State.

The body said while all well-meaning Nigerians and the international community must rise in unison to condemn the horrendous attacks on many Adara communities in Kajuru Local Government Area by herdsmen militia, government must on its part frontally tackle security challenges posed by these merciless attackers in all states to restore safety and security of lives and property in the country.

Coordinator of the Coalition, Rev Fr Williams Kaura Abba, said Nigerians and the global community can no longer be silent in the face of organised slaughtering and systematic killings of innocent citizens without any form of provocation.

Rev Fr Abba, who spoke during the Coalition’s peaceful procession at the Unity Fountain Park, Abuja, on Tuesday, said; “The existential threat to Adara people is frightening and real, as both the Kaduna State and Federal Government are playing the ostrich to the security need and humanitarian catastrophe pervading the communities.”

He further claimed that the “latest death toll of this mindless carnage has already surpassed 130, with several communities reduced to rubbles, and setting the stage for a major humanitarian crisis that has so far displaced no fewer than 10,000 persons now living in four camps.”

The clergy said the time has come for men and women of good conscience, as well as the international community, to mount pressure on the Federal and Kaduna State Governments to end the killings without further delay.

“We cannot remain silent in the face of these gruesome killings and deliberate agenda to annihilate Adara people whose only crime is being natives. The bourgeoning human carnage has the propensity of spreading to other areas of the state if not effectively checkmated. If we must save our shared humanity and salvage what is left of humankind, we need to close ranks and insist on relevant organs of government to perform their obligations without fear or favour”, he said.

Consequently, the Coalition outlined its seven-point prayers towards the resolution of the current killings and human crisis in the affected areas as follows:

“Government should, as a matter of urgency, deploy more security forces into these hinterlands, including consistent aerial surveillance to track down the terrorists and consequently end the carnage. 

“Government at both Federal and state levels must muster courage and the political will to halt the incursion of these non-state actors. It is our firm belief that powerful retrogressive forces are funding and supporting these well-coordinated militia who come in and strike at our sleepy and peaceful communities and retreat without consequences.  

“Government should provide adequate healthcare for the wounded, food and shelter for the victims. We plead with agencies of government, especially the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency, to make haste and intervene in the humanitarian crisis that has displaced over 10,000, with many others admitted for medical treatment in the state. On this note, we want to state unequivocally, that at no time did these communities reject the Federal Government’s assistance or made themselves inaccessible to agencies of government.”

Furthermore, it calls “on the Federal Government to set up an independent Commission of Enquiry to probe the Kajuru killings, including exhumation of Fulani corpses, if any, in order to bring perpetrators to justice. We cannot allow killers to turn our once peaceful and thriving villages and towns into trenches of warfare.”

Also, the group rejects “the politicisation of these conflicts, be they in Birnin Gwari, Kajuru, Southern Kaduna or any part of the Nigerian Federation” and calls “for accountability and probity in the handling of the current gale of massacres in Kaduna State and urge government to prosecute those who promote this mayhem through careless speech of incitement for the sole purposes of stoking hatred and violence.”  

Equally, the Coalition is demanding “the immediate release of Adara elders that have been unjustly incarcerated”, adding; “These leaders have committed no crime other than being leaders of an Ethnic group. El-Rufai has taken it upon himself to break the resolve of the Adara and viciously pursue their persecution.”

“We reject the balkanisation of our traditional institution and therefore call for a return to the pre- 2015 status of our monarchs, with their approved nomenclatures as provided for by the laws. We feel that the action of the governor in balkanising our traditional institution is a recipe for chaos and instability”, the group insisted.

The Coalition Coordinator however said despite the current challenges, all concerned stakeholders must come together to “re-ignite the hope for our common humanity and walk in unity to end this culture of death and destruction” in the affected communities.

Also condemning the bloodbath in the affected areas, the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union, (SOKAPU) President, Barrister Solomon Musa described the attacks on the Adaras and other communities as ethnic cleansing by terrorists and killer herdsmen that surprisingly have neither been arrested nor brought to book.

He said the increasing spate of mass slaughter unleashed on innocent people have so far claimed the lives 117 Adara natives, with about 140 houses and properties worth billions of Naira destroyed within one month.

“What is most unfortunate is that the victims are being arrested while the perpetrators of these dastardly acts are being encouraged and pampered”, the SOKAPU boss lamented.

According to him; “Southern Kaduna is for peace at all times. But if the Federal and Kaduna State Governments do not want us to be part of Nigeria again, then let it be known that we have adequate population, even more than some African countries to be a nation of our own.”