Kaduna state police commissioner, Ahmad Abdulrahman, has faulted the figure of victims of the recent crisis in Kajuru local government of the state being released to the public saying it is premature for anybody to say how many were killed.
The CP, who spoke with newsmen on Thursday in his office in Kaduna, said he had told the Kaduna State governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai that figures in a crisis of this magnitude should be left until all investigations have been concluded.
He said this is to avoid a situation where different figures would be released at different times.
The Kaduna state governor had initially said 66 Fulani were killed in the crisis and later said they were up to 130. Other groups have however disputed the figure.
The commissioner said, “You cannot come up with a figure otherwise you will quote a particular figure now and quote another later, this is what is happening now.
“As far as the police is concerned, we are investigating and the investigation is still in the embryonic stage; by the time we cover all the areas, we can quote any figure. As we speak, my men are still in the bush with humanitarian workers trying to actually find out the true position of things.”
The CP said the crisis occurred in a terrain of full of hamlets which were difficult to assess with vehicles and his men are still uncovering areas where nobody had visited.
“For example, the place where 36 people were said to have been buried, was not at the purview of the security agencies at the commencement of the investigation.
“We didn’t even know that something happened until when the Fulani themselves came out to tell us after we have secured the place in conjunction with the military, that they approached the military to accompany them to their hamlet in order to bury their dead relations.”
The CP said the police are working on three prominent theories.
“First is that unknown gunmen believed to be Fulani, attacked the Adara people and escaped in the night on 11th February. The DPO in charge of the area immediately mobilised his men to the area combed the bushes in search of the perpetrators in the middle of the night. It was there that they started seeing the carnage.
“Unfortunately, the Adara natives went to the Fulani communities and carried out a reprisal attacks. At that time, it was easier to identify the perpetrators or those who instigated the reprisal.
“However, we have arrested one of the suspected Fulani that attacked the Adara people and we are still pursuing the others. Although the only Fulani man who was arrested had denied any involvement but our men are still working on his case,” he added.
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