The
wanton destruction of human lives and properties being perpetrated by the
notorious Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria is showing no sign of abating. Rather it is intensifying in places like
Southern Kaduna, as it were, with outright impunity.
As at press time, a 24-hour
curfew has been imposed (since Christmas) on 3 LGAs in the predominantly Christian
Southern Kaduna Senatorial District; yet the killing, maiming and raping has
only intensified. According to reports,
killers armed with sophisticated weapons such as AK47 and machine guns moved
from house to house within a target community, wreaking havoc. Mostly affected are the weak and vulnerable,
such as children, women, and the elderly who usually are unable to scamper out
to safety in time to escape the assailants.
Outspoken government critic, Chief Fani-Kayode
provided a graphic description of the aftermath of a typical herdsmen visit:
“On Christmas eve, despite a three day government
curfew, Goska and numerous other towns, communities and villages in Southern
Kaduna were attacked by the Fulani militants and herdsmen yet again. In Goska
they raped most of the girls before slaughtering them.
Scores of innocent men, women and children, including
the fourteen year old daughter of the former LGA Chairman of Jema, Barrister
Gideon Morik, were butchered.
I saw
the picture of her battered head and body all over the social media and it
sickened and enraged me. I kept asking myself what type of animals would do
this to a child?” http://dailypost.ng/2016/12/27/femi-fani-kayode-southern-kaduna-hit-back-die/
According to statistics released by the Catholic
Diocese of Kafanchan late December, 808 people have been killed while 57
managed to escape with various levels of injury, in the latest series of onslaughts.
The list of properties destroyed includes: 1,422 houses, 16 church buildings,
19 shops, 1 primary school and 5 cars. Cost of farmlands and foodstuff burnt
was put, conservatively, at N5.5 billion.
Yet for all these atrocities, the Federal Government
has kept mum on the issue. When taken up
by the Press on this silence, spokesperson for the government said it was a
matter for the State Government to handle!
As this tragic drama continues seemingly unabatedly,
however, the Socio
Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has petitioned the United
Nations, requesting her to intervene and compel the Federal Government of
Nigeria to act. In the petition dated 30th
December, 2016 and signed by executive director Adetokunbo Mumuni, SERAP
lamented that: “the Nigerian government has failed and/or neglected to create
an environment in Southern Kaduna to end the unlawful killings by failing to
move their legal and institutional machinery …… to prevent the violence which
has contributed to the increasing number of victims.”
The
SERAP further reiterated her belief, “that the killings would not have taken
place if the Nigerian authorities have taken measures to prevent their
happening and to address persistent impunity of those responsible for the
violations and abuses.” According to the
SERAP, “The lack of accountability for the attacks by herdsmen and other
unknown perpetrators across the country has continued to create a culture of
impunity which clearly is not compatible with the rule of law in a democratic
society.”
Among
other demands, SERAP urged the UN to “Carry out an effective investigation into
the circumstances surrounding the killings and to identify the perpetrators and
bring them to justice, and to provide reparations to victims.” http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pmnewsnigeria/PMNewsNigeriaFeed/~3/3_Z0cfEEDCI/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email
In the meantime, Gov El Rufai of Kaduna state continues
to provoke criticism with his comments and actions on the affairs. First he declared that the criminal herdsmen
were not Nigerians, but foreign herdsmen who are bent on revenging (apparently
justifiably) some wrong meted to their colleagues in the aftermath of the 2011
national elections. He later announced he had security reports indicating
militants from the Niger Delta were planning to come dressed as Fulani herdsmen
to cause more chaos! In other words, it
is never the Fulani herdsmen that you see around (Miyetti Allah) that are
responsible for the massacre. Finally the governor (who claimed he paid some
financial compensation to appease off the non-Nigerian Fulani herdsmen) announced
he would be spending 100 million naira to rebuild the burnt Churches.
Various stakeholders, at various fora, have however
expressed lack of confidence in the government of Mallan El-Rufai. The Catholic
Archdiocese of Kafancha for instance, said they would prefer that the
100 million naira in question be used, in a transparent manner, to
compensate and alleviate the sufferings of families afflicted by the
crisis. They further contrasted government’s
swift response to rescue herdsmen who were attacked by cattle rustlers in Birnin Gwari, with the many incidents
of security forces failing to turn up whilst the Fulani herdsmen massacre
natives and sometimes take over their land.
In the cattle rustlers’ attack on the herdsmen, according to the
Catholic Diocese, “It didn’t take the government of El Rufai time to figure out
what to do. ….. if the government can deploy helicopters and soldiers to Birnin
Gwari to help in tracking down the terrorists, why is the same government
unwilling to deploy the same soldiers and helicopters to Southern Kaduna to
help flush out the Fulani herdsmen terrorizing indigenes of Southern
Kaduna? Why is government silent and not
proactive in the face of these attacks?”
Senator representing Kaduna Central
Senatorial District, Shehu Sanni, in declaring his loss of confidence in
government’s handling of the case went as far as calling for the involvement of
civil militia groups such as the
Civilian JTF which has played considerable role in the now concluding fight
against Boko Haram insurgency. As
reported by the Leadership newspaper, the visit of the outspoken senator was in
response to the “…attacks in Goska village, Jema’a local government area
of Kaduna state, despite curfew, at Tum
in Kaura local government area of Kaduna state on 27 Dec, 2016” He was reported to have declared: “it is
unfortunate that southern Kaduna has become a slaughter ground and a cemetery.”
http://leadership.ng/news/565474/shehu-sani-calls-for-civilian-jtf-in-southern-kaduna-2
In the meantime, the Christian Association of
Nigeria, CAN, has declared a national day of mourning for Sunday 8th
January 2017 to petition God for urgent intervention and also sensitize the
world to the ongoing attempt to cleanse Southern Kaduna of Christian people and
influence by brute Islamists.
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