Over 800 people have been killed in the ongoing attacks on communities by suspected armed herdsmen in Southern Kaduna. This is according to the Catholic Archdiocese of Kafanchan.
In a statement issued by the Vicar General of the diocese, Reverend Father Ibrahim Yakubu, 53 villages have so far been attacked and 57 people injured.
The church also accused government and security agencies of not doing enough to protect the people of the area from being attacked by the armed bandits.
Yakubu said, “Four local government areas have been attacked, with 808 people killed and 1,422 houses, 16 Churches, 19 shops, and one primary school destroyed.
“Unfortunately, our government both at the Centre and State levels have failed woefully.”
The church, while demanding for immediate end to attacks in the area and compensation to all families that lost loved ones or property, also called for the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry be put in place to investigate the causes of the crisis.
“We call on Southern Kaduna indigenes to remain steadfast in prayer, united, strong and never to cave in to the antics of our adversaries.
“Tribe and denominational differences shouldn’t put a chasm between us.” (Channels TV)
A concern not to be trivialised considering this may also be ethnicist minded or religious driven. It beggars rational justification why for a long period of attacks nothing impactful has been put in place in form of interventions, either by the state of the Central administration.
Has anyone become ‘paranoid’ enough to associate ongoings to be a residue of boko haram: churches and other non-islamic institutions being targeted frequently, or else, why the name ‘Fulani herdsmen’ always dropped whenever the issue is raised? Is boko haram membership predominantly fulani? It leaves several doubts and ambivalence to read/hear about state government in Kaduna not demonstrating desired measurable strategies to cull these attacks, give succour to affected people and to construct a reliable and sustainable security infrastructure to contain the attackers. It goes way back in history that Southern Kaduna state population have always been treated as second class members of the society – then grant them their autonomous right to self governance – their own state, irrespective of existing constitution for/against new state creation. When we talk ‘change’, we mean holistic change’. El Rufai should know better.