KAFANCHAN, Federal Republic of Nigeria. The federal government has been accused of paying little attention to the persistent killings and destruction of rural communities in the southern part of Kaduna State by gunmen since 2011.
Addressing a news conference monday in Kafanchan, headquarters of Jama’a Local Government Area of the state, the senator representing the Southern Kaduna senatorial district, Senator Danjuma La’ah, while condemning the recent killing of nine people in Kastak village in the area, disclosed that in the past four years, over 10,000 people have been killed while about 30,000 people have been displaced following the destruction of their homes by suspected bandits.
He regretted that it was unfortunate that while the attention of the federal government and its security apparatus were being focused on the Boko Haram insurgent in the North-east, gunmen have continued to have a field day in the southern part of the state, unleashing terror on the people.
The senator said the killings were giving him so much concern, urging both the state and the federal governments to address the situation.
According to him, “This is giving me much concern and I want to call the attention of the world to this wickedness that has always been going on without any seeming solution.
“No June 16, around 8p.m., the peaceful and law-abiding village of Kastak, in Takad Chiefdom, Jema’a Local Government Area of the state was invaded by well-armed men.
“According to the distress calls I received and the reports of my aides shortly after the invasion, nine people were instantly killed and 13 others critically injured.
“I am very disturbed that the state government, despite all its promises to safeguard our lives and property, has not done enough. And this is not the first time that such impudent killings have happened since the coming to power of the present government.”
La’ah who noted that the attacks had been going on since 2011 without any concrete steps to stop it, called on the federal government to give equal attention to the security challenges in the southern part of the state just like it is doing in the North-east region.
He also demanded that the federal government shuold rebuild all the communities in the southern Kaduna area that were destroyed by the armed gangs.
“We are asking for the rebuilding of all destroyed villages just as some villages in the North-east are being rebuilt, and some token of compensation paid to surviving victims of the attacks in our communities. The Southern Kaduna people are no less Nigerian than others.
“We are asking for help to train and equip our vigilante, just like the Civilian JTF is recognised and assisted in the war against Boko Haram insurgents in the North-east.
“We want the federal and state governments to carry out an intensive investigation into this violence in Southern Kaduna with the aim of fishing out the killers and their sponsors,” La’ah said.
Credit: ThisDay
