Persons who are displaced as a result of herdsmen attack in Gan-Gora, Zangon Kataf Local Government area of Kaduna State have to come out from their places of refuge to receive help from donors and visitors on philanthropic visits.
The community suffered two different attacks in July and August this year where up to fourteen (14) persons lost their lives and over fifteen (15) injured as well as hundreds of houses and other properties burnt by the attackers.
So far, Humanitarian workers have been going there to offer relieve materials for the surviving victims.
In an interview various affected victims in the attack narrated their ordeal which they said it’s quite unbearable.
Na’omi Yakubu is the wife of Yakubu Yashim a wanted victim by the fulani attackers who invaded Gan-Gora. According to her the attackers are known faces who employed the use of other mercineries. In her “….we were just in our rooms when we heard the sound of guns from different angles of the community, we then move out of our homes and started running, honestly our community have been destroyed and many people killed. ….. I was lucky my family escaped…. Those that took cover within the community told us that the Fulani attackers came looking for my husband Mr Yakubu Yashim…. My husband who was nicknamed Taure by the fulani is now hidding… On the day of the attack, they entered our house shouting; where is Taure, where is Taure…. our neighbors saw them while hidding, they said they are looking for my husband, his relatives to slaughter them….”
“…..The gang leaders of the fulani attackers are two and we know them, they are called Yakubu Aruwa and Aminu, Aruwa is very close to us, his Fulani parents bore him in our land, he grew up on my family’s land, we watch him grow here in this community, we gave his parents the land and there, they gave birth to him (Aruwa)…he led the attackers to our house to come and kill us, but thank God we escaped…..”
Another resident of Gan-Gora Benjamin Shem Shemang, said his entire household who survived the attack are now residing in an internationally displaced persons (IDP) Camp in neighboring town, Zonkwa.
He said “…. On 27 July, last month precisely, the fulani, invaded our town here, during which many innocent people where killed and attacked, and my younger, Stephen Balat was killed and our house burnt, since then we were displaced. Presently, I am coming all the way from Zonkwa to this place in order to receive relieve materials, right now , we are displaced, many of us don’t have anywhere to go ….most of us have to run” he said “… we don’t have confidence in staying here most especially in the night…..” He added.
At the moment military special forces are seen on motorcycles patroling bushes and reportedly searching and disarming Fulani Herders.
The deposed Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II has taken sides with Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai for the withdrawal of the Governor’s invitation to take part in the 2020 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the deposed Kano Emir, who departed Lagos State for Kaduna State on Sunday morning, on a visit to northern Nigeria first time after his dethronement in March, felt Governor El-Rufai was not accorded the right to fair hearing, and he hoped the matter does not tear the NBA apart.
Sanusi stressed that the invitation granted Governor El-Rufai would have actually given the NBA a rare opportunity to grill the Kaduna State Governor. He argued that El-Rufai always has opinions, and that people will either like him for it or hate him for it.
“You know if you have an opinion, people will either agree with you or disagree with you but a man who has an opinion that can be agreed with or disagreed with is always better than a man who has no opinion at all.
“Nasir always has opinions. He knows what his positions are on things. He says that position very clearly. People will like it, some people will not like it and that is what some people call controversial and being controversial is actually having an opinion. To be honest I do not want to join issues because we have already heard the views of Nigerians and the response.
“Everybody has a right to a fair hearing, and most importantly for me, if you feel that the Governor of Kaduna State is not doing right you should invite him to your covers and ask him to explain what he is doing. Tell him what you think is doing wrong and you will learn something from him and he will learn something from you.
“That is the best way to handle issues like this. But again, I have seen the response from different branches of NBA and I hope this matter will not be turned to ethnicity and religious matter. It should be a matter of principle,” Sanusi said.
The deposed Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II on Sunday departed Lagos State with his wives to Kaduna State amidst wild jubilation in what is his first visit to northern Nigeria after he was dethroned five months ago.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the deposed Emir departed Lagos with his aides and arrived in Kaduna, where he was received and welcomed by the State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai with a large number of followers.
Sanusi told El-Rufai that he is grateful to have in him a friend he can always count on. He thanked the Governor for standing by him and assured that he will do his best as Vice Chairman of the Kaduna Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA) and Chancellor of the Kaduna State University (KASU).
Meanwhile, Governor El-Rufai, welcoming Sanusi, thanked him for making Kaduna the first place he is visiting since relocating to Lagos in March.
Recall that Sanusi was sacked as Emir of Kano by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje on 9 March 2020. He had ascended the throne on 8 June 2014, following the death of his grand-uncle Ado Bayero.
After his removal, Aminu Ado Bayero was named the 15th Emir of Kano from the Fulani Sullubawa clan. He ascended the throne on 9 March 2020, following the deposition of his nephew Muhammad Sanusi II.
A close aide of Sanusi, Dr Suleiman Shinkafi said the former emir would be in Kaduna for a week to receive visitors who had wanted to come to see him.
“Since his dethronement, many people have indicated their intentions to visit him in Lagos. But the monarch decided to relief them from the stress of travelling as far as Lagos,” he stressed.
Shinkafi also said the monarch will visit Sokoto to greet the Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad before moving to Azare, Katagum where his late grandfather, Muhammad Sanusi l stayed when he was deposed by late Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello.
Sanusi, who arrived the Air Force base around 10.40 am, alighted from a private plane and was immediately followed by his wives.
Some traditional title holders from Kano and Kaduna were at the Air Force base to welcome him.
Immediately the monarch entered his waiting cream coloured Rolls Royce, he was conveyed to Government House where he met with the Governor.
Sanusi’s last time in Kaduna was during the 60th birthday celebration of Governor El-Rufai.
Memories and impact of the 5th of August attack by armed men of Fulani ethnicity on Apiashyim and Kibori villages in Zangon Atyap (Kataf) Local Government Area still lingers.
Six people died and 20 homes were burnt down in Apiashyim, and nine people were killed in Kibori village on that fateful day of the attack. The attackers reportedly proceeded to Magamiya and unleash mayhem in the wee hours of 6th August without a reprimand.
Among survivors of the attack was the family of Aboi in Kibori whose complete household was burnt down to ashes. One of the surviving children in the family Michael Mbason who chatted with TNG seems hopeless while narrating the damage caused by the Fulani militia which he termed as very devastating.
The biological father of Michael Mbason, Mr Michael Aboi was killed alongside his two grandchildren. One of the grandchildren is severely injured and is currently receiving treatment. “….we have been referred to Kaduna Barau Dikko Specialist Hospital….” Mbason said. “….we were referred by the Zonkwa General Hospital to Kaduna to proceed for the treatment, the boy is just 11 years old and he suffered lots of injuries, he could have been killed if not that he scamper for safety..” Mbason added.
Asked on the extent of the damage, Mbason said the entire house, housing his extended family has been burnt down by the attackers leaving survivors in the family to the only option of squatting with relations in neighboring villages and the state capital. He called on the government of Kaduna State to intervene objectively in the ongoing Fulani herdsmen onslaught in Southern Kaduna and see to the end of violence in the region.
TNG also reach out to the ward councilor of Zaman-Dabo Ward, Mr. Cleophas Yohanna who stated that there is a deliberate attempt by Fulani ethnic group to secure a space in the Atyap land which is not possible. “the event of June 5 made them guilty. After Killing Yusuf Magaji son of a pastor over a piece of farmland. On noticing that the Atyap people discovered the corps of Magaji, they started running away knowing what will follow, even after we pleaded they should not leave, they ran away only to return and attack us, this is not fare…..” Yohanna said.
The Fulani Militia according to residents of Magamiya, Kibori and Kurmin Masara sought mercenaries as reinforcement before laying siege on Atyap land.
At the moment, a twenty-four-hour curfew has been imposed in the entire local government as well as the deployment of the Nigerian Army special forces to tame further attacks and reprisals in the area.
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) on Sunday deployed an additional 32 special forces to support Operation Safe Haven being executed by the military to restore normalcy to southern Kaduna.
The Air Officer Commanding (AOC ) Air Training Command Kaduna, AVM Musa Mukhtar said in Kaduna that the deployment was in response to the directive of the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar for NAF to support the ongoing operation.
“We are part of support element going to Southern Kaduna to support the operation safe haven from the Nigerian airforce special forces.
“I call on the troops to be discipline, remain focused and respect human rights as they go about their operations.
“We have Operation Thunder Strike which is domiciled in Kaduna to take care of the North West axis, this means the air power will be originated from there.
“We also intend to carry out our civil military relation hopefully by next week and send a medical team from our hospitals.”
Mukhtar noted that the operation would be as long as necessary, adding that there were already a contingent of the Defence Special Forces deployed to southern Kaduna, to restore peace in the area.
“We also have air component Commander to coordinate the air power aspect,” he added.
The AOC called on the residents of southern Kaduna to avail the troops with all the necessary and genuine information that will assist in the successful execution of the operation.
“We will process the information and find out its true nature and then act,” he assured.
Mukhtar also called on the residents to give the military all the necessary cooperation, saying “we are there to assist the civil populace and not to harm them.”
The troops deployed two officers, 28 soldiers and two medical staff.
Gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen have once again attacked Zangon Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State in the wee hours of Thursday August 7.
This time, the gunmen invaded Magamiya, Kibori (asha-a-wuce), and Kurmin Masara, all in the Zangon Kataf Local government.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) gathered that the villagers attempted to resist the attackers but could not do so due to the superior weapons the attackers had.
Amongst the villages attacked includes piezihim in Kibori village, kurmin masara, Takmawai, Takpaisa and Magamiya.
“The Fulani men came in from zaman dabo forest firing shots in zama-awon but where repelled by Magamiya youths,” Yashim Kambai a resident of zaman-dabo told TNG.
“It is in the process of the attack some persons lost their lives,” He added.
TNG spoke to one of the bereaved, Mr Mbason Aboi at Kibori village, who narrated how his father and two nephews were killed.
“They shot my father and two little boys who could not run for their lives,” Aboi said.
In Kurmin Masara two families were reportedly wiped out by the attackers who shot and set ablaze their houses.
Other injured victims are currently receiving treatment at the Saint Louis Hospital and the General Hospital, Zonkwa.
…identify herdsmen, armed bandits as purveyours of mayhem
By Emman Ovuakporie
Members of the Kaduna State House of Representatives caucus on Wednesday condemned the wanton killing of Southern Kaduna people by bandits suspected to be herdsmen in North Western Nigeria.
Speaking at an ongoing press briefing in National Assembly, the lawmakers demanded for a thorough investigation of the killing of their constituents on a daily basis.
Read full text below:
We the representatives of good people of Southern Kaduna, Kaduna State in the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, regardless of our party affiliations, condemn the persistent, inhuman killings and kidnappings of the people of Southern Kaduna Region and are therefore compelled to address the gentlemen of the Press as follows:
1. That we are the representatives of all natives, residents and persons domiciled in Southern Kaduna, regardless of their colour, creed, race, religion, political ideology or ethnic nationality. We admonish all our constituents to be law abiding even in this challenging times. As elected representatives, we are the voice of all these categories of people, regardless of their ethnic group in the National Assembly. It is on their behalf that we condemn the raiding, killings, kidnappings of our people. These actions are unconstitutional, criminal, inhuman and highly condemnable. Therefore, it is necessary for all hands to be on deck to checkmate this ugly scourge within the ambits of the rule of law.
2. We also use this opportunity to commensurate and express our condolence to all who have lost their loved ones and properties as a result of the attacks. it is our prayer that the Almighty God, who created Heavens and the Earth, will comfort the bereaved and help us as a nation to bring the perpetrators of this evil to justice and to end these unnecessary killings.
3. The Right to Life of every Citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is a constitutionally guaranteed right as encapsulated in Section 33(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and it provides ‘every person has a right to life, and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in execution of the sentence of a Court in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria’’. The implication is that under the laws of our nation and indeed of all civilized nations, extra-judicial killings on any ground whatsoever is not just abominable, it is evil, unconstitutional, inhuman and a heinous crime. The Killings of the people of Southern Kaduna or anybody at all in Nigeria is highly condemnable and must be brought to an end. This is because life is the essence of human existence and the protection of this right is a global concern. Hence, the Universal Declaration of Human Right (UDHR) 1948, which has now attained the status of customary international law, and its contents, has found its way into the Constitution of all civilized nations including Nigeria.
4. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999(as amended) is premised on the principles of Freedom, Equality and Justice and Section 14(2)(b) provides that the Security and Welfare of the People shall be the primary purpose of government and Section 17(2)(b) provides that in furtherance of the social order, the sanctity and dignity of the human person shall be protected and preserved by government. Section 17(3)(c) guarantees the health, safety and welfare of all persons. Thus, the primary objective of any government in Nigeria is to preserve the life and property of its citizenry, no matter their ethnic, religious or ideological differences. The inability of any government to secure the lives and property of its citizens or ensure their welfare implies failure of government.
5. It is no longer news, that the people of Southern Kaduna, have become preys in their fatherland, they have consistently been invaded, slaughtered in cold blood, raped, killed and their properties destroyed and pillaged in public glare. With little success in investigating and apprehending the perpetrators of the said attacks.
6. As representatives of the people, we have identified
(a) herdsmen and farmer clashes
(b) forceful land grabbing by non-natives of southern Kaduna
(c) reprisal attacks
(d) banditry
(e) criminality as some of the major causes of the killings and hostilities in Southern Kaduna.
These problems can only be solved if the rule of law is allowed to take its full course. Rule of Law entails adherence to the principles of supremacy of the law over all citizens and subjects in Nigeria, equality of all citizens and subjects before the law.
7. While we note that these attacks are deeply rooted and multifaceted in nature, the failure to investigate arrest and prosecute the perpetrators has continued to embolden the attackers.
8. In these difficult times, statements by people in authority should serve to heal and unite the people, rather than inflaming passion and justifying the heinous acts.
9. As representatives of the people of Southern Kaduna, we hereby:
i. State unequivocally that the life of every citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, regardless of ethnic, religious or ideological differences must be protected as required under Section 14(2)(b) CFRN 1999(as amended).
ii. Condemn the armed attacks and killings of the people of Southern Kaduna by the armed militia groups or any group whatsoever no matter their motive and we condemn the justification of any attacks on our people or any reprisal attack.
iii. The Federal Government as well as the State Government have both made efforts in the past to stem this ugly tide. Such efforts must be increased, it must be people centred, it must be more transparent and effective.
iv. The People of Southern Kaduna should be vigilant and law abiding and avoid taking laws into their hands, regardless of any provocation. They should co-operate with law enforcement officers and report these miscreants when necessary.
v. We call for the arrest, investigation, prosecution and conviction where necessary of these attackers so that they can desist from unleashing mayhem on the people of Southern Kaduna.
10. We thank you for your time.
Long Live the Good People of Southern Kaduna
Long Live the People of Kaduna State
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
SIGNED
S/N NAME CONSTITUENCY SIGNATURE
1.HON GIDEON LUCAS GWANIKAURA FEDERAL CONSTITUENCY
2.HON SHEHU NICHOLAS GARBAJEMA’A/SANGA FEDERAL CONSTITUENCY
3.HON. MUKHTAR CHAWAI ZAKARI KAURU FEDERAL CONSTITUENCY
4.HON. GABRIEL SALAH ZOCK KACHIA/KAGARKO FEDERAL CONSTITUENCY
5. HON. AMOS GWAMNA MAGAJI ZANGON KATAF/JABA FEDERAL CONSTITUENCY
Fr Williams Kaura Abba, a Catholic priest, working as the Coordinator of the Coalition Against Kajuru Killings, has disclosed how a statement, he described as reckless, made by an aide to President Muhammadu Buhari resulted in violence in Southern Kaduna.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Fr Abba, who made the disclosure in a short exhortation delivered at Church of Mary Immaculate (CMI) Garage, said Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant (Media & Publicity) to the President twisted narrative of the situation in Southern Kaduna, thereby emboldening savagery in the area.
Read the short exhortation by Fr Williams Kaura Abba below:
Blood flowing across the landscape of Southern Kaduna. Community after community across the length and breath of our area have come under the severest attack by a militia of Fulani stock. Kajuru, Doka, Chibob, Kigudu, Gora Gan, Kukum Daji, Zikpak, etc have all tasted the cruelty of these beasts in human form. In all of these attacks, we have had the displeasure of hurriedly burying our loved ones in mass graves. They were not even allowed the dignity of decent burial as the powers that be insisted our loved ones must be buried with the speed of light. Women, The old, the not so old, the young, children and even toddlers are not spared in the killings that have now clearly become genocidal. The mortal remains of Kingsley, lying before us this morning, felled by the terrorist’s bullet, reminds us all about the need to rise up to defend our land, our lives and livelihoods.
I have been asked to speak for five (5) minutes only and I will hastily love to make the following points:
1. This Government doesn’t care about us. Make no mistake about this – the mien, body language, and statements of government regarding Southern Kaduna is enough to prove this. We have the deliberate attempt by Shehu Garba, Senior Special Assistant (Media & Publicity) to the President to twist the narrative as evidenced in the Statement released by the Presidency on 21/7/2020. The statement reads in part “From available security records, the problem in Southern Kaduna is an evil combination of politically-motivated banditry, revenge killings and mutual violence by criminal gangs acting on ethnic and religious grounds. It is a situation in which one criminal group will kill a member of another criminal group out of ethnic and religious motivations which in turn leads to the eruption of revenge and counter-revenge, thereby making the job of the security personnel deployed to protect lives more difficult”.
This statement in all intent and purposes appears to be an endorsement of the savagery going on in our area. It emboldens the enemy.
A day or two after the release of this reckless statement, violence erupted in Zangon Kataf. If the witch cried at night and the baby dies in the morning, you know who to blame.
Governments at both State and federal levels have clearly failed to carry out their constitutional responsibilities which is the protection of lives and property – the irreducible minimum.
If government cannot improve infrastructure in Southern Kaduna, or even pretend to be fair to us, then let them just guarantee that we can go to our farms safely and sleep in our homes without fear of being hacked down.
2. We must commend our youth for helping to repel the mercenaries. Were it not for their bravery, our communities today would have been overrun and taken over. The militia came against us with powerful ammunitions, our youth had only courage and sticks to wade the attackers off. We sincerely thank you for standing up to be counted. We are proud of you.
3. There is yet another twist to these unfortunate occurrences. We are beginning to hear rumours of connivance between the terrorists and some of our people. An ce yaki baya cin gari sai da dan gari. We are worried about this and we enjoin our youth to put in a mechanism in place to check the behavior of our people. If you suddenly see someone in the community without any verifiable means of income beginning to live ostentatious life, spending money he clearly didn’t make legitimately, and riding a bajad that you can’t explain how he came about it, it could be a red flag and such people should be interrogated. I don’t know how someone could sleep in his house knowing that he traded his kinsmen for money and material gains. We place a curse on any Southern Kaduna person who is an accomplice and instrumental to the attacks on our people. We disown them and invoke the wrath of our forefathers upon such traitors.
To our son, Kingsley, we bid you farewell. You were a gallant cadet, a courageous soldier for Christ and his Church. Go in peace. You alongside thousands of our people who have lost their lives to violence, must now unite to intercede for us. The blood you shed on our soil, must rise up now to defend us from future attacks. To the parents of Kingsley, and many others who were killed in the past days and weeks, we say be comforted. You gave birth to Kingsley, but he was a proud son of Southern Kaduna. He has joined the ranks of martyrs. May he rest in peace.
A Christian group known as Christian Rights Agenda (CRA) has said President Muhammadu Buhari has questions to answer over the recent killings that happened in the Southern part of Kaduna State.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the group stated this, accusing President Buhari and Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai as turning a blind eye to the killing ongoing in the State.
According to the group, the government has questions to answer in the carnage and bloodbath; they said has become the lot of innocent and defenceless Christian peasant farmers of Southern Kaduna.
“Over 50 people have died in Kaura, Zangon-Kataf, Kauru and Kajuru local government areas of the North-western Nigerian State in the last one week. This situation is unacceptable
“CRA notes with pain that from nonchalance, government’s attitude towards the fate of northern minority Christians in southern Kaduna has risen to the level of deliberate mis-information with a view to changing the entire narrative ostensibly to cover-up an orchestrated plan to annihilate the people and take-over their lands.
“Governor El-Rufai in particular even apologized to the people of Birnin Gwari area for his government’s inability and failure to protect them from attacks by bandits. Why has he not done so for #SouthernKadunaGenocide?
Is it because they are #Christians?
“CRA have maintained that the federal government of Nigeria led by Major General Buhari and Kaduna state government should have questions to answer in the carnage and bloodbath that has become the lot of innocent and defenceless Christian peasant farmers of southern-kaduna that at every attack, the state and federal government, respectively, take turns to make excuses for the genocidal criminals,” CRA stated.
The group further stated that, “Both president Buhari and Governor El-Rufai are northern Muslims whose positions on religious issues has always betrayed lack of statesmanship especially in a secular state as Nigeria.
“This is heightened by the fact that both the President of the country and governor of Kaduna are not only Muslims but have presided over government policies that did not protect the interest of Christians in the country.
In the latest attack, presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, quickly attributed the renewed killings in the Christian dominated southern to “revenge killings and mutual violence by criminal gangs acting on ethnic and religious grounds.
“Garba Shehu’s statement read in part: “From available records, Southern Kaduna enjoys comprehensive security deployments, including the Army, Special Forces of both the Army and the Air Force, surveillance aircraft by the Air Force and mobile police units that are on the ground on a 24-hour basis to forestall criminality and keep the peace. But unlike other parts of the country, the problem of Southern Kaduna is more complicated than many critics are ready to acknowledge and understand.”
“CRA believes the federal government is not only complicit in the protracted violence that has claimed several lives but wonders what the federal government has done with the security information at its disposal in the last five years.
“Or is the presidency scared of saying the formidable security arrangement is in place to protect the Fulani militia while they kill innocent southern Kaduna indigenes. Let Major General Buhari stop the perfidy
“Statistical information at the disposal of CRA indicates that from 2018 to date, no fewer than 15,000 Christian children, women, old and young have been maimed and killed by armed groups alleged to be Fulani terrorists in Kaduna, Plateau, Nasarawa, Benue and Taraba States while the Federal and State governments have been unable to protect them.
“This is in addition to another 620 people who have been brutally murdered, according to documents obtained by CRA from The International Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law (ISCLRL).
“CRA equally find governor El-Rufai’s response to the Kaduna killings as very repulsive, dubious, wicked and a mere rehearse of the presidential narrative.
“Governor el-Rufai in a statement through Muyiwa Adekeye, his spokesman, said insecurity in Kaduna state is being perpetrated by criminal elements who have been killing, kidnapping people and rustling cattle the entire North West and that “The criminality of the bandits gets coated with ethnic and religious hues when it affects communities in the southern parts of the state, where it tends to exacerbate communal tensions and pitch people who have lived peacefully together against each other. This is how the cycle of attacks, revenge and reprisals occurs in southern Kaduna.”
“What a defence! CRA is appalled by this statement. There isn’t a greater testimony to complicity. It is a well considered view of CRA that international bodies such as the United Nations, UN, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) should open an investigation into the on-going killings in Southern Kaduna without further delay.
“Specifically, CRA is calling on the ICC to mobilize with immediate effect, and set up a fact-finding panel in order to end what it called pogrom before it is too late insisting that Nigerian state under president Buhari has failed Nigerian Christians and the earlier the situation is put under control, the better in order to avert a Rwanda experience.
“The fact that the core duty of government is the protection of lives and property cannot be wished away”.
…we just registered 420 Households, 851 persons in the camp says officials…
…my daughter was chased and stabbed and left to drawn in River Kaduna, woman cry out…..
……Zonkwa Now hosting 13 Communities displaced by herdsmen attack….
By Emmanuel Bagudu
From Thursday 9th July up till Sunday (today) 12 July, major communities under curfew in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area in Southern Kaduna have been tensed. No thanks to the latest herdsmen attack which began on Thursday and continued on Friday in Chibob and it’s neighbourhood all in Zangon Kataf without security interventions as at the time of writing this report.
Over 420 households made up of 851 persons from 13 communities in Zangon Kataf have abandoned their communities to nearby Zonkwa, the headquarters of the local government where an emergency internally displaced persons (IDP) camp was created by some residents.
Correspondent, Emmanuel Bagudu who drove from Kaduna to meet the affected victims in their various locations of refuge presents this report.
Fear, anxiety and indignation best describes the surviving victims of Chibob and 12 other communities in Zangon Kataf Local Government who were attacked on Thursday and Friday by bandits they described as herdsmen.
The Victims who laments the lost of their loved once from the attack are indignant; they are shocked that despite the 24 hours curfew imposed by the State government, hardened criminals had a field day in their communities without apprehension.
It was an emotional experience while trying to gather facts as more survivors of the attack keep arriving as at 10 am on Sunday Morning when I arrived the camp located at the ECWA Christian Academy, Zonkwa.
Being an indigene of Zangon Kataf Local Government with fluency in Atyap and Bajju tribes and with mild understanding of Ikulu and Kamatan tribes as well as Chawai, a tribe from neighbouring Kauru Local Government, I knew gathering real facts and listening to people’s story will be quite adventurous.
While embarking on the journey to Zangon Kataf, a lot of fake news and misconceptions about the attack was already making the rounds in the State capital Kaduna.
“Be careful,” a friend warned me before I left.
A lot of persons living in the Kaduna metropolis believe the place is a war zone since the discovery of the corps of one Mr Yusuf Shehu Magaji in June this year, at a river bank in the border between Zangon Kataf and Kauru Local Government area of Kaduna State.
It was gathered that Mr Magaji’s demise was as a result of a clash over a piece of farmland between him (Magaji) and some Hausa-Fulani men, hence the imposition of the 24 hour curfew, which the State government is yet to relax.
Although Magaji is from the Chawai speaking tribe (Kauru LGA), he was born and brought up in Sako, a land of the Atyaps (Kataf) in Zangon Kataf, who are known to be very revengeful and repulsive to the Hausa-Fulanis whenever they temper with the lives and property of their kinsmen or anyone close to them.
All was set. I covered a total distance of 200 kilometres from Sabon Tasha Kaduna to Zonkwa, to Yabak, Takanai Zango, Sako, (asha-a-wuce), Sabon Kaura and Chibob, the most affected village in the attack.
Sabon Kaura and Chibob are the only communities attacked but residents neighbouring the two villages who claimed they received threats messages of attack by herders have to join the Chibobs to throng the Zonkwa IDP camp.
Before reaching Chibob, I touched down at Zonkwa where over a thousand persons from 13 villages, including Chibob were all at the ECWA Christian Academy IDP Camp. They were mostly made up of women and children.
Zachariah Danjuma, an official of the Camp narrated how they saw the IDPs moving en masse from Gora, (a transit village) on foot.
“They were all angry at the State government” Danjuma said, adding that “so far we have registered 420 households, 851 persons in the camp, we have the following Communities mostly women and Children….The men stayed behind to provide vigilante in case of further attacks”.
He identified the fleeing communities in the camp which includes Sabon Kaura, Chibob, Takanai, Warkan, Ramin Kura, Sabafan, Sako, Yabak, Bafai Gida, Kurmin Gandu, Mayinyubi (Bakin Kogi-Kauru LGA) and Unwgan Rohogo.
“We brought them here in the camp yesterday Saturday and as you can see, more are still coming in,” he said.
Breast feeding mothers and children between the ages of 3 to 19 are the most populated in the camp. Religious Organisations and individuals that came visiting had already started sending in donations to the camp in either cash or kind.
“We have received mattresses from Deborah Arise Ministry, and a lot of people come to give us little cash just like you just did,” Danjuma said.
I was taken round classes in the camp which are now converted to shelter for the IDPs and in each class, the IDPs had a lot of stories to tell.
For Mrs Murna Tabat, she witnessed the killing of up to four people while trying to escape for her dare life.
Tabat who spoke in Atyap (Kataf) language narrated how the attackers took advantage of the river Kaduna, which flows and passed through Chibob community.
She said the only way to flee from the attackers was through the river Kaduna, which is already heading towards overflowing due to heavy rains.
A woman at the IDP narrates her ordeal (SEE ATTACHED VIDEO)
That meant only those who could swim the already “tempest looking river” survived the attack, but since the attack was fragmented, some people manage to escape without following through the river, other survivors said.
“My daughter while running was stabbed and as she ran towards the river (river Kaduna), she drowned…. we have buried her before coming,” Mrs Tabat said agonizingly.
For his Part, Timothy Musa a resident of Takanai, said “….the attack took place in Chibob on Thursday, and on Friday. Same attack took place in Sabon Kaura… where houses were burnt….”
This according to Musa made the remaining neighbouring communities to flee for safety since they have already received threatening signs of impending attacks.
Without much-a-do at the IDP camp in ECWA Christian Academy Zonkwa, I proceeded to the communities to see for myself.
From Zonkwa to the 13 communities is just less than 20 kilometres with several shortcuts. I drove from Zonkwa to Ungwan Wakili where I switched to a motorcycle for shortcuts purposes.
From Ungwan Wakili, one can head towards Yabak and Takanai through an untarred road just in front of ECWA church Ungwan Wakili. I moved and all I could see were fierce-looking youths mounting roadblocks and making enquiries. All you need to do is to respond to them in Atyap (Kataf) language and you are free to go. You dare not record anything or risk losing your life irrespective of the language you speak.
I rode passed several youths until I reached Yabak village. All I saw are men and youths on patrol. Just after Yabak is Takanai. Youths from the 13 communities engaged in a massive patrol.
“We are looking for Fulani men that attacked us last two nights,” one of the youths who pleaded anonymity said.
Asked whether they have seen any security person around, he said, “yes they just left for Chibob, where the real thing happened. Here, we are just defending. They told us they are coming, but we have not seen them (referring to the bandits)”.
All the villages are attached to each other. I was told by a community head who also pleaded anonymity that only Chibob and Sabon Kaura were attacked, but since the remaining communities are neighbouring them, and have received threatening signs, everyone had to run for their lives.
In Chibob and Sabon Kaura, it’s a mourning mood. Security men have already taken positions. I was interrogated, but being an indigene of Magamiya and born and brought in Zangon Kataf and with valid means of identification, I exonerated myself.
It is a very precarious situation right now in Zangon Kataf and only the Atyap speaking tribe are directly affected.
A lot of questions are being asked such as: what happened to the curfew imposed in the local government with strict reference to the Atyap chiefdom?
It is the peak of the raining season; will the State government allow bandits deny residents of their only source of livelihoods which is farming?
All these and many more questions remained unanswered as the IDPs at ECWA Christian Academy Zonkwa also look forward to reuniting with their fathers and brothers soon.
![EXCLUSIVE: Over 20 killed, 851 persons displaced as bandits unleash mayhem in Kaduna [PHOTOS/VIDEOS]](https://thenewsguru.ng/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/kaduna.jpg)
