AS controversy over the actual number of people killed in Kajuru rages, an Online publication says it has obtained more details of the attack the Kaduna State government said lead to the death of 66 people.
The Nigeria army has also confirmed that the killings took place.
The attack which occurred on Monday is believed to be a reprisal after an earlier incident that left many dead, a resident told the publication.
The details came amid controversy over the accuracy of the details provided by the Kaduna government.
Gov. Nasir el-Rufai on Friday announced the recovery of 66 bodies on the eve of the now-postponed general elections, leading many to believe the killings took place that day.
According to el-Rufai, the victims were killed by “criminal elements” in various dispersed hamlets in the Maro Gida and Iri axis of Kajuru LGA.
The settlements affected include Ruga Bahago, Ruga Daku, Ruga Ori, Ruga Haruna, Ruga Yukka Abubakar, Ruga Duni Kadiri, Ruga Shewuka and Ruga Shuaibu Yau.
But on Saturday, the former head of the National Human Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu, said during a Channels TV programme that he could not confirm the killings took place. He said he contacted several sources in the area.
Mr Odinkalu said the report of the killings may have been part of the design by senior politicians in the country to create scenarios that could be used as a reason for the postponement of the elections.
The Peoples Democratic Party in Kaduna also questioned the death toll given by the governor, saying only 11 people died.
But an Online publication, PT said it has established that el-Rufai’s announcement was based on a confidential situation report (Sitrep) by Operation Yaki, a security team comprising of the Police, Army and the State Security Services.
According to the details of the report, Operation Yaki said that a patrol team of 15 soldiers that accompanied Fulani residents of the area, who were searching for their missing siblings, found the 66 bodies, amongst them women and children. They also saw several properties destroyed.
Odinkalu: Disputes the number of people killed and the motive behind the timing of the announcement
Details of attack
A reporter attached with the publication in the state also spoke to residents who gave details of the attack.
Benjamin Maigari, a local who told the publication he travelled to the area ahead of the elections, said there were two attacks: the first on the Adara people of Maro and a second, a reprisal on the Fulani in the community.
He said the reprisal claimed more lives than the initial attack.
“Towards the early hours of Monday, around 1 a.m., there was an attack on a community called Ungwar Bardi in Maro, Kajuru Local Government. The people there are predominantly Adara. So, there was an attack on them and 11 people were killed,” he said.
“The locals, that’s the Adara people suspected that it was the Fulani that attacked and decided to have a reprisal attack that Monday. The reprisal was that same Monday. They attacked the hamlets of the Fulani within the community and killed the Fulanis. Women, children, inclusive. Even the one (attack) on Adara people, women and children were killed.”
He said police visited the area to access the situation on Monday and met with the district head and the divisional police in Kajuru Local Government.
The police are yet to react or officially give an update on the development.
When contacted, Police Public Relations Officer in Kaduna, Yakubu Sabo, said the force would soon release an update on the incident.
It is not clear why the state government delayed the announcement till Friday.
Army Confirms Killings
Meanwhile, the Nigeria army has confirmed the killing of 66 people in the attack on Kajuru Local Government Area Of Kaduna State.
The General Officer Commanding One Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Faruk Yahaya, said that 37 out of the 66 people killed were buried in a shallow grave near a river bank in Kajuru.
According to a community leader, gunmen had attacked Ungwar Barde village killing scores of people and burning down houses on Monday night, February 11, 2019.
He said this led to a reprisal in three other communities that also left several people dead and many others injured.
Meanwhile, the state governor, Nasir El-Rufai, accompanied by the GOC One Division and Commissioner of Police in the state, has visited the communities where they held a meeting with the leaders with a view to identifying the remote and immediate cause of the crisis.
On his part, the commissioner of police in the state, Ahmad Abdurahman, said that seven suspects had been arrested over the killings.
History of the crisis
In October 2018, the paramount ruler of Adara, Agom Maiwada Galadima, was killed by unknown persons days after he was abducted.
In response, the Kaduna State Government imposed a 24-hour curfew on some Kaduna metropolis such as Kasuwan Magani, Kajuru, Kateri and Kachia.
The government denied the killing had ethnic or religious undertone in the attack.
“This is a struggle between good, decent, law abiding people trying to uphold the peace and criminals who want to divide and destroy. It is not a struggle between religious or ethnic groups. Let no criminal find succour in faith or tribe,” governor el-Rufai said at the time in a statement.
Before the monarch was whisked away, four persons, including a policeman, were killed along Kaduna/Kachia road by the alleged abductors on Friday, October 19.
His driver and the wife were freed by the kidnappers, leaving only the chief in their custody. Days later, he was killed.
With additional report from PT
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