A source told SaharaReporters that the kidnappers told the monarch before he was killed: “Even if they pay your ransom, we will still kill you; that is the order we have."
Dr. Galadima Maiwada, the Agom Adara of Adara Chiefdom in Kaduna State, died for resisting attempts by Nasir el-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State, to restructure Kajuru under the Adara Traditional Council to the Kajuru Emirate, SaharaReporters can confirm.
A source who spoke with SaharaReporters said that shortly after the Kaduna State of Nigeria Gazette No.21 Vol 52. was approved by the Governor, “Maiwada found out about what the government had done without his knowledge or consultation with the people, and he resisted the change due to the fact that the Adara Chiefdom is dominated by an indigenous Christian polulation and therefore could not be described as an emirate or appointed an Emir.
Galadima found out what had happened and tried to change the mind of the government to no avail. The local chiefs only found out about the gazette after his gruesome murder.
SaharaReporters found out that Maiwada, fearing the annihilation of his indigenous group, appealed to the Governor to change his mind because it does not reflect the will of Adara people. Before his murder, he was kidnapped and a ransom was demanded.
A source told SaharaReporters that the kidnappers told the monarch before he was killed: “Even if they pay your ransom, we will still kill you; that is the order we have."
Dr. Maiwada was brutally murdered in October 2018 on his way to his palace after accompanying Governor Nasir El-Rufai to Kasuwan Maga to commiserate with the community over violence that claimed many lives.
“We didn’t know what was going on; nobody knew but Agom found out and wanted to stop it from happening," the source said.
"The elections were drawing close and el-Rufai needed to appeal to a certain section of Kajuru in order to win the election, that is why he did what he did.
“Since then, it has been one attack after the other but the government never mentions the systematic killings by Fulani herdsmen against the Adara community, all in a bid to forcefully implement the gazette."
