How Church attacks sparked reprisals in Kaduna

The reprisal attacks, according to some witnesses, claimed more lives than the three suicide attacks combined. Places like Sabon Tasha, Unguwan Romi, Maraban Rido, Gonin Gora and Trikaniya were said to be the most affected by the reprisals where mostly innocent travellers and artisans were intercepted and hacked to death.   The Kaduna State Commissioner […]

The reprisal attacks, according to some witnesses, claimed more lives than the three suicide attacks combined. Places like Sabon Tasha, Unguwan Romi, Maraban Rido, Gonin Gora and Trikaniya were said to be the most affected by the reprisals where mostly innocent travellers and artisans were intercepted and hacked to death.

 

The Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Muhammad Jinjiri Abubakar, has said during a press briefing that his command has rescued about 1,046 people who were trapped at Sabon Tasha. The commissioner said if not for their timely intervention, the fate of the 1,046people would have been cruel.

The Sunday, June 17, 2012, attacks appeared to have been simultaneous. Suicide bombers attacked Churches in Wusasa and Sabon Gari, Zaria as well as Trikaniya, Kaduna. The Wusasa attack was carried out on an ECWA Church at about 8:45am where three people were reported dead with many injured, mostly children. While in Sabon Gari, another suicide bomber killed himself along with over 20 people at the Christ King Catholic Church on Yoruba Street of the area at almost the same time with that of Wusasa. After about an hour after the Zaria attack, Shallom Church in Trikaniya came under siege of bombers where four people were reported death with many injured.

The suicide bomber that attacked an ECWA Church in Wusasa was said to have disguised himself as a woman and attempted to ram into the Church premises but intercepted at the gate where he detonated his bomb. Most of those injured in Wusasa were said to be children because the children wing of the Church was the worst affected.

The attack of Sabon Gari, Zaria recorded the highest casualties, including many Muslims. Eyewitness account revealed that the attackers were stopped from entering the Christ King Catholic Church, located on No. 80 Yoruba Street behind the military Army Depot but they brought their bombs and hurled them into the Church.

“This led to the murder of about 20 people including Muslims who are either neighbours of the Church or those who trade at the gate of the Church. On the spot, I have counted 11 corpses, including a cobbler who works at the gate of the Church. There is also a prostitutes’ house close to the Church where the blast led to the murder of about seven people. Some people also lost their lives in a Waina (a Hausa snack) joint where they went for breakfast,” eyewitness, Idris Abubakar, said.

Abubakar said two people suspected to be with the bombers were apprehended but were set on flames after the bombs had exploded. Abubakar gave the name of the cobbler that died in the Sabon Gari attack as Lawal Kosi.

The attack on the Shallom Church inTrikaniya took the same pattern with those of Sabon Gari and Wusasa only that it occurred about an hour late.

Following the reprisals killings that followed the three attacks, the Kaduna State government declared a 24-hourcurfew but relaxed it on Monday, June 18, afternoon and this led to a fresh round of violence.

Signs of problem began to emerge Monday night when sounds of gunshots were heard in areas like Kakuri, Badarawa, Barnawa and other parts of the city.

Not long after residents of the city have commenced their routine businesses on Tuesday, news of riots in areas like Tudun Wada, Barnawa, Unguwan Shanu and other places filtered into the Kaduna metropolis. This development forced people to lock up their shops while government offices were also put under lock and key. The fresh riot also claimed many lives and this force the state government to re-impose the 24-hour curfew.

Despite that however, violent clashes were reported in areas like Badarawa and Malali on Wednesday, June 20. That of Badarawa was the most pronounced where at least nine people were reported to have been shot dead by some yet-to-be-identified security personnel.

Some youths of Badarawa were reported to have moved into Unguwan Yaro, a Christian dominated area, to allegedly cause havoc but when security agents were alerted, they quickly moved in to save the situation but shot some of the youths to death.

“It was the police helicopter that first opened fire on the youths before some security personnel came from behind and opened fire on them as well. With my eyes, I have seen nine corpses but some people are saying that 15 people were killed.

“The youths were teased by one of the boys of Unguwan Yaro. The Unguwan Yaro boy was said to have told them that if they believe in Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), they should move into Unguwan Yaro and see how they would finish with them. This was why the deceased went into the area instead of reporting to security agents and they were eventually killed. I know the name of some of the deceased as Suleiman Layin Sarkin Margi, Nura Majalisa Kwaru, Murtala Kasayar Ka barsu and Sani Black. In fact, there were three bullets on the body of Suleiman before he was buried,” a resident of Badarawa, Umar Muhammad, told our correspondent.

When contacted on the issue however, the Kaduna State Commissioner of police, Muhammad Jinjiri Abubkar, said he has not instructed any police man to kill any resident.

“It is not true because I have not instructed any policeman to kill because our work is to protect lives and property not to kill. If anyone has proof that our men have killed anyone, he should come forward with the evidence and we would certainly investigate and fish out the culprits,” CP Abubakar said.

Those who survived the Badarawa assault are now receiving treatment in FOMWAN hospital in Badarawa, some of them in critical condition.

Calm is gradually returning to the troubled areas of Kaduna as there was no report of any violence between Thursday and yesterday. The Kaduna State Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Sa’idu Adamu, announced on Thursday night that the state government has decided to relax the 24-hour curfew for Friday and tomorrow, Sunday. Yesterday residents were allowed to move out from 12 noon to 4pm while tomorrow; movement is allowed from 9am to 1pm. For today, according to the commissioner, the 24curfew remained.