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Two soldiers among victims, Irate youths block highway, kill 1
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Swallow your pride, accept you’ve failed – CAN tells El-Rufai
At least 24 persons, including two soldiers attached to Operation Safe Haven, have been killed, with dozens of houses burnt in Agban and Maraban Kagoro, in Kaura Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
Daily Trust reports that the attack sparked a riot on Monday morning by irate youths who mounted roadblocks and attacked travellers.
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A traveller, identified as Dan Asabe from Mariri town of Lere LGA, was killed in the Maraban Kagoro riot while on his way to Kafanchan in Jema’a LGA.
The development raised tensions in the Southern Kaduna axis of the state, which has in decades been plagued by the ethno-religious crises that have claimed thousands of lives.
The Kaduna State government imposed a 24-hour curfew on the neighbouring LGAs of Kaura and Jema’a to avert further breakdown of law and order.
Our correspondent gathered that gunmen, suspected to be herdsmen, on Sunday evening, invaded Agban and Maraban Kagoro to avenge the killing of a herder and 30 cows as well as the burning of four motorcycles on Thursday.
Residents said the attackers stormed the communities and shot sporadically, killing at least 24 people, including, two personnel of Operation Safe Haven, who responded to a distress call on Agban community.
Christopher Dereck, a resident of Agban told our reporter that his community was attacked around 9:15pm on Sunday.
He said he counted 15 bodies from the attack but could not say how many were killed in Maraban Kagoro.
Luka Abah, who lost his wife, father and two children, said seven persons were killed in Maraban Kagoro and another one in a nearby community called Hayi.
The President of Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), Jonathan Asake, did not respond to calls for a reaction.
The Kaduna State Chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Haruna Usman Tugga, condemned the killings, which he said happened a few hours after a peace meeting with the various ethnic and youth groups in the area.
Tugga said the fact that some persons would launch attacks and kill innocent lives after a peace meeting showed that there are crisis merchants in the area.
The Kaduna State Police Command was yet to comment on the killings as of the time of filing this report.
The Sector 7 Commander of Operation Safe Haven, in charge of Southern Kaduna, Col. Timothy Opurum said he was not in a position to speak on whether any of his men were killed in the attack.
However, our correspondent gathered from military sources attached to Operation Safe Haven headquarters in Plateau State that the soldiers who responded to a distress call were ambushed and shot dead.
El-Rufai imposes curfew on Kaura, Jema’a
Kaduna State government yesterday imposed a 24-hour curfew on Kaura and Jema’a LGAs.
He stressed the need for the security agencies to stabilise the situation, save lives and properties and restore law and order.
In a statement by the state’s Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, the government appealed to residents of Jema’a and Kaura Local Government Areas to cooperate with the security agencies “In the urgent task of restoring peace and upholding law and order.”
According to the statement, “The government condemns the violence and all acts of lawlessness that have occurred in the area, adding that further updates will be issued as necessary.”
Defend yourselves, CAN tells Kaduna residents
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has urged residents in Kaduna State to protect their lives and communities against wanton killings, kidnappings and terrorist activities, saying Governor Nasir El-Rufai has failed to halt the menace.
CAN Chairman, Kaduna State Chapter, Reverend John Joseph Hayab, in a statement on Monday, said the continued killings, kidnappings and banditry in the state without any substantial action by the government and security forces were disturbing.
He called on El-Rufai and his team to focus on the fight against banditry and kidnapping and salvage the state so that he would be remembered for good after leaving office.
He said, “How long will this evil continue and when will our leaders act dutifully? Kaduna State citizens are tired of the government’s rhetorical responses without concrete action taken to protect lives and property.
“Accordingly, we want to hear and see the killers and kidnappers arrested as the government’s usual media condemnation whenever there is havoc is not good enough.
“Meanwhile, we appeal to citizens to also wake up and do the needful, protecting their lives and community. When a government fails to protect you, you ought to find a means of defending yourself.
“For the records, Kaduna State has lost several lives in the past four years while the leaders scarcely show empathy or concern for the victims seeing that the government’s response is usually in the media. Sadly, the dead cannot read nor listen to the news.
“Then of what use is media condemnation? CAN, therefore, calls on the Kaduna State government to swallow her pride and accept that she has failed the people, genuinely seeking help to immediately halt the wanton killings, kidnappings and terrorist activities going on in the state.
“Governor El-Rufai and his team should focus on the fight to salvage the state so that he will be remembered for good when he leaves office.”
