Kaduna Community Urges Security Agencies to Recover 30 Corpses of Victims of Attacks

By John Shiklam

President of the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), Mr. Jonathan Asake, has appealed to security agencies to help in recovering corpses of over 30 people killed in the recent attacks on some communities in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

Asake made the appeal on Saturday shortly after donating food items to two IPD camps in Rimau and Mararaban Kajuru, where hundreds of people displaced following the attacks by herdsmen were taking refuge.

During the visit, victims of the attacks from several communities, including the village head of Anguwan Arha, Mr. Kedo Alkali, told the SOKAPU President that their attackers, killed, looted and burnt their homes.

The victims also said about 60 people were missing and expressed fears that they may have been abducted or killed in the bushes.

Asake, who addressed the victims, called on security agencies to help the communities to go back and recover the decomposing corpses for proper burial.

He also faulted claims by the Kaduna State Police Command that the killings only took place in two communities, saying that over 20 communities, which include Anguwan Dantata, Anguwan Goshi, Anguwan Maigizo, Angwan Maidoki, Anguwan Jama’a, Makyali,Gonan, Rogo, Idazo, Magunguna, Angwan Rana and Kujeni, among others were attacked.

The state police command, in a statement on Friday, claimed that only two communities were attack and dismissed statements by the Adara Development Association on the killings as “fake news” and threaten to arrest anyone circulating fake news.

Asake said: “We heard a sad report from the police authorities in Kaduna, saying that there were attacks on the 12 and 13 May and that the attacks took place only in Gonan Rogo and Anguwan Rana and that outside that, there was no attack anywhere.

“From the information available to us we have a list of over 20 communities that were attacked in Kajuru, not only Anguwan Rogo and Anguwan Rana as claimed by the Kaduna state police command.

“Up till now that we are talking many corpses of the people killed have not been burried.

“We were told that over 30 people that were killed have not been buried because nobody can go back to the communities again for fear of being killed.

“The corpses are already decomposing. They people want to recover the dead bodies for burial. Up till now no security man had gone there to assist them recover the corpses for burial.

“The only thing the police have said is that the statement by the Adara people on attacks and killings in many villages is fake news.

“We want to know who is actually involved in the fake news? Who is actually spreading the misinformation?”

He called on the authorities to do their due diligence and live up to their constitutional responsibility of protecting the people. According to him, “one of the responsibilities of any government is to protect lives and property and provide welfare for the people.

“We have not seen any welfare here. We have not seen anything provided by the government here.

“We have not seen any security protecting these people in these camps.

“But we have heard that they are threatening to arrest people reporting these attacks and massacre that are going on in these communities.”

He called on the communities to be peaceful, prayerful and avoid any form of trouble.

“We are praying that God will open the eyes of these killers to see the light.

“The youths should guard their communities from these attacks. What is happening will come to pass. Those who have hands in the attacks will face the judgment of God. Don’t go and look for anybody’s trouble. You must not take the laws into your hands, but you must protect yourselves if anybody comes to kill you.”