The union reminded the state government that the people of the area might be pushed to self-defence if nothing is done urgently.
A group of Southern Kaduna people under the aegis of Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), has lamented the brutal and gruesome massacre of no fewer than 38 villagers in Malagum 1 and Abun (Broni Prono) villages in the Kaura Local Government Area of Kaduna State by terrorists.
In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Luka Binniyat, SOKAPU said the killings which lasted for hours started simultaneously around 11 pm on Sunday.
The union reminded the state government that the people of the area might be pushed to self-defence if nothing is done urgently.
“Not only were these poor innocent citizens killed, not less than 100 houses were razed with some victims burnt alive,” he said adding that “At the time of releasing this statement, volunteers are still combing surrounding bushes in search of missing persons and more corpses.”
The union noted that the villagers noticed the gathering of strange herdsmen coming from different directions on motorbikes to camp in a nearby bush some days before the attacks.
“Apparently, the security forces deployed there did nothing under this glaring potential threat to security. Especially as this dastardly act is coming five days after armed herdsmen herded their cattle into a farm owned by Cletus Dunia, 45, in Kpak village, a subunit of Kagoro, in Kaura LGA and shot him dead at close range before mutilating his corpse and fleeing with their cows.
“The rampaging herdsmen also shot and killed Levi Zakaria, 19 as he was harvesting yams on a farm that was by the fleeing path of the killer herdsmen. Same day, the same herdsmen killed Ezra Sunday 16, about 2 km from where Zakaria was killed,” he said.
The union further lamented that the same herdsmen caused the death of 31-year-old Gaje Habila, who fell and died of exhaustion while escaping the killer herdsmen, leaving behind a widow and a six-month-old baby – his only child.
According to the union, between last Tuesday and Wednesday, armed men identified as herdsmen invaded some homes in Kamuru village, Ikulu Ward in the Zangon Kataf Local Government Area in the same Southern Kaduna, killing at least 4 persons.
He said, “This is to say that 46 persons were killed in unprovoked attacks in Southern Kaduna in the past five days.
“These attacks are coming close to the 2023 general elections. We believe that the aim is to further destabilise Southern Kaduna and give an excuse to the Federal Government to stop election in the area, especially. Already there are thousands who have been chased out from their ancestral homes as a result of similar violence unleashed on them, especially between 2019 and this year.
“Let it be put on record that in the hundreds of attacks that have put many parts of Southern Kaduna into ruins and thousands killed since 2014, we have not seen anyone arrested and brought to book over these heinous crimes against humanity.
“Instead, it is Southern Kaduna traditional leaders, clergy and human rights activists that do get arrested and put in prison over trump-up allegations of 'incitement.’"
“Governor Nasir el-Rufai's newfound obligation to its citizens is to arrange a quarterly press briefing to inform the world of how many of his citizens have been killed every quarter of the year and how many have been kidnapped. After that, nothing! The killings and kidnapping continue,” the statement added.
The union further alleged that the state governor, El-Rufai has not shown any empathy with the victims.
“Today, thousands of residents of these two sacked communities and surrounding villages are leaving their homes in droves as IDPs in any area they may find some measure of safety. Their survival will depend on the goodwill of kindhearted persons and groups, certainly not his government.
“We condemn the resurgence of these mass slaughter and we call on the government to take its responsibility of securing lives and property very seriously or it should leave the stage.
“We call on our people not to take the laws into their hands, but should remember that their right to self-defence is not only natural but constitutional too,” the statement said.