Kaura killings…How gunmen invaded Kaduna villages, killed over 100

The old woman, who could not hold back her tears when Weekly Trust visited the community, said she has never seen such cruelty in her entire life. Her tale gives a graphic picture of the agony and pain experienced by villagers in Southern Kaduna, since the commencement of what they described as uninterrupted killings by […]

The old woman, who could not hold back her tears when Weekly Trust visited the community, said she has never seen such cruelty in her entire life. Her tale gives a graphic picture of the agony and pain experienced by villagers in Southern Kaduna, since the commencement of what they described as uninterrupted killings by gunmen in that part of the state in 2012. “As I stepped outside my room in fright, they snatched the little boy from me and threw him among themselves before slaughtering him,” she said. “When these things were happening, military men were called on phone but they did not come until the attackers had left. They are now here with armoured tanks after the deed has been done.”
Ahe added: “We don’t really know the motive behind this cruelty. I was born in this Bondong District and married here in Ungwar Sankwai. We have never had a problem with any community. Even the 2011 post-election crises that we heard were fought in some parts of the state were not experienced here.”
Another resident, Marcus Ma’an, said the gunmen came with chemicals, explosives, machetes and guns which they used to attack. “They came from the hills holding chemicals, like carbides, which they used in killing and burning houses. If you look at the bodies of survivors, it looks like hot water was poured on them,” Ma’an explained adding that they attacked three villages simultaneously. He told Weekly Trust that the attack lasted for more than three hours before security personnel came, leaving a death toll of 119 people, with more than 240 houses burnt down.
He also said: “In all these villages, there was not a single house that was not attacked and burnt down. We have done mass burials at the three villages while the displaced are camping at the Bondong primary school. It’s genocide.”
While some preferred staying with their relatives, at the camp, where about 2000 displaced stay, hungry-looking women rolled on the ground, crying, as soldiers kept watch. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) after delivering relief materials to the temporary camp also mandated its staff from the headquarters, Abuja, and those from the North-West zone who relocated to Kaura villages, to manage the camp. 
“30 people have moved into my house to stay with me, a house that has less than eight rooms,” a resident said. “I cannot ask them to leave for the camp at the Model Primary School. There are a lot of people that are also housing some of the IDPs. We have to do that because the situation is terrible,” Ma’an added.
Speaking to Weekly Trust, Nuhu Waney, a community leader who is also coordinating the refugee camp, said the attack came as a shock because the gunmen, numbering over 40, armed with dangerous knives, guns and other sophisticated weapons of mass destruction invaded the three villages simultaneously.
The community leader, who witnessed the incident, said: “They came around 10pm Friday night in large numbers, some in camouflage uniforms and rubber shoes, divided into three groups. There was a group that threw local bombs, and set houses ablaze, another that shot at those trying to escape from the fire, while the last used machetes to slaughter the injured, mostly women and children.”
He told Weekly Trust that even though the villagers were overwhelmed, they were able to get four of the attackers, who fled as they saw the light of approaching army trucks. “The two bodies of their members left behind happen to be Fulani boys that were part of this community. Everyone knows them here. They are engaged in ‘Okada’ business and that is why we’re saying that it was the Fulani that invaded us, for reasons we don’t know,” he said.
“About 250 houses were burnt by the attackers. We have buried 119 and still searching for others,” Vice Chairman of the Local government, Daniel Anyip revealed. “From our records, in all the three villages attacked, only five houses are standing.”
The incident created tension in Kaduna. Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) youth wing led a protest with members dressed in black, holding candles, coffins and placards with inscriptions that that read: “Government stop lying, our people are dying” and others. They also sang protest songs like.
National President of the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), Dr. Ephraim Goje, appealed to government to direct security chiefs to mobilize their men to Kaura to comb the Attakar and Manchok hills and forests where the attackers are camping. “We are surprised by the quantum of security mobilized for this kind of programme, yet, same cannot be provided for our people in Southern Kaduna,” Goje added.
Goje continued: “What comes to our minds now is that, truly, the Fulanis have unofficially declared war on our people.” According to him, the Union had identified the corpses of two of the attackers killed as Fulani men who were well known in the area. “Their dead bodies have clearly and unambiguously been identified by the natives and their corpses are now kept by the Joint Task Force (JTF) Command in Kafanchan for further forensic screening.” He also said communities in Southern Kaduna will take all necessary measures to defend themselves from further attacks. “Let it be placed on record that no community has the monopoly of violence, so our people are been pushed to a level that we may take certain actions aimed at defending our people and our land in order to put an end to this impunity.”
Kaduna State governor, Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, via an official statement, expressed sadness and shock over the attacks, and condoled with the victims. Yero said government was already working with security agencies towards scaling up its strategies in order to improve security, especially in border communities. “This ugly situation is unacceptable and we will step up efforts to improve surveillance and curtail future occurrence,” the statement read, as the governor vowed to bring the criminals to justice. The statement said the government has ordered full investigation and will empower community surveillance by vigilante groups in areas that have become prone to attacks.
Likewise, the police in Kaduna said they were working and putting in more effort to ensure effective security in the area. Spokesman of the command, Aminu Lawan, who described the attacks as unfortunate, disclosed that the Commission of Police in the state, Alhaji UU Shehu has asked the Area Commander and all the PPOs in the area to embark on patrol with the locals to ensure intelligence-gathering. “We are doing something because the joint effort will make them to be sending reports on the command and any area they need reimbursement, the command would respond promptly,” Lawan said, adding they will comb the bushes, at the same time partnering with the chiefs and youth. 
But Dr. Goje, the SOKAPU leader, addressing the youth, said the whole world must know that over 614 Southern Kaduna People have been killed since 2012 when the night attacks started. “Thousands of people have been displaced. We are here to tell Nigerians and the international community that government in Nigeria at all levels and security agencies are playing politics with the ongoing killings in Southern Kaduna.”
But on whether or not the police are doing anything about the allegations against the Fulanis by SOKAPU, Lawan said “Police haven’t got information about the claim.” A local Fulani herder in Danbushiya village, Saleh Adamu, said: “We’re not happy about the recent killings and the report accusing Fulani of declaring war on other tribes. We’re peaceful people.”