'Terrorists are all over, not only Southern Kaduna'

-Governor Nasir el-Rufai

el-Rufai addressing Journalists in Hausa after a security meeting on Southern Kaduna

By DANGWA DANJUMA

Governor Ahmed Nasir el-Rufai has admitted that terrorists are everywhere in Kaduna state, not only in the troubled Southern Kaduna, disclosing that miscreants have taken to the social media space to promote what he called disturbing and further aggravating the worsening situation situation with religious and ethnic colouration.

Speaking to newsmen in Hausa, after a meeting with security officials, el-Rufai said that miscreants from Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and outside Nigeria are trying to insinuate that the Southern Kaduna killings is ethnic and religious even going as far as asking people to take the law into their hands. While maintaining that these people would be brought to book, he tasked traditional leaders, religious leaders and political office holders in the state to speak the truth about the happenings as failing to do so would make the government take drastic action on them.

Governor el-Rufai who stated that the terorrists have denied farmers access to their farmlands in Giwa, Birnin Gwari, Igabi and Chikun local governments and the northern parts of the state and not just Southern Kaduna, also revealed that the meeting with security officials was to hear what is being done by security agencies in the state to deal with the challenge; other measures that need to be in place to ensure that farmers are able to work their farms in Giwa, Igabi, Chikun and also restore the peace and tranquility to Southern Kaduna.

He assured that the Kaduna State Peace Commission is on ground working around peace building with the communities, adding that it would be difficult to make any headway, if the people in the area fail to embrace peace because security agents cannot be everywhere at all times.

Watch the video of el-Rufai speaking to newsmen in Hausa

Earlier the Senator representing the Southern Kaduna Senatorial District, Chief Danjuma Tella La'ah expressed dissatisfaction with the way and manner the governor is handling the security crisis: "I blame the happenings in the state on the governor, who has refused to put the necessary measures in place to curtail the security situation, rather he is always claiming not to know what is happening in Southern Kaduna. People should not be punished for not voting the governor as their popular candidate in the 2019 elections."

On his part, the leader of Southern Kaduna People's Union (SOKAPU), Honourable Jonathan Asake, described the Southern Kaduna wanton killings as an agenda against his people, calling on the federal government to intervene urgently.

In an exclusive interview with Cubinks News, Asake regretted that "despite the capacity and effective mechanisms to assess the situation in Southern Kaduna, government authorities have been economical with the truth about insecurity in Southern Kaduna. The area is under siege. That Fulani militia and Kataf youths are now involved in reprisal attacks, is an unconvincing narrative, to the events forcing women and children mostly vulnerable to be killed in the unabated attacks on defenceless homes and communities akin to invasion.

"The government and officials are refusing to come clean and stand for humanity. Instead of managing diversity, the Governor of Kaduna has decided to capitalize on fault lines to divide the people further. To me there is a geneocide ongoing in Southern Kaduna which is being fueled by a conspiracy to displace the people and occupy our lands."

A former Senator and Civil Rights Activist, himself an indigene of the state, Comrade Shehu Sani, while reacting to the appalling security situation tweeted thus: "when bandits kill in Zamfara, it is condemned; when bandits kill in Southern Kaduna, it is explained".

The merciless killings being witnessed in Zangon Kataf, Kauru, Kaura, Jema'a and Kajuru have rendered women and children homeless. Livelihoods have been destroyed amidst unabated banditry. Major General Chukwuemeka Okonkwo who heads the Operation Safe Haven, a joint task force working in Southern Kaduna and Plateau state, described banditry and cattle rustling activities in the area as overwhelming.

Comments

Kaduna COVID-19 Lockdown, People Living with Disabilities and Inclusion

Chairman JONAPWD, Abdulaziz Suleiman , (Right) and a colleague (Middle) in a chat with CALPED's Yusuf Goje By SMITH WAYA Before the index case of Corona virus (Covid-19) in Nigeria, the Kaduna state government held a public hearing on the proposed Kaduna state social protection policy, in line with the administration's slogan of putting the people first. The Joint National Associations of Person with Disability(JONAPWD), Kaduna chapter, as the umbrella body for people living disabilities in the State, were invited to present a position paper on their expectations of the new policy. The Disability Community took advantage of the town-hall meeting to appeal to the state government to work assiduously towards reducing poverty and hunger in their household. The Governor, Mallam Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai, assured them of the state government's commitment in ensuring that no one is left behind especially people living with disabilities. Incidently, as the State governm...

NEWS FEATURE: Governor el-Rufai and the Sanctity of the Ballot

el-Rufai: Voting at his polling unit BY NASIRU JAGABA F irst of all, let me start by congratulating the Citizens of Kaduna State, for violence free election in the local government polls. The peaceful conduct of the citizens in Kaduna despite the happenings that had shown clearly the desperation of persons in the corridor of power to manipulate, overturn the result refused to give in to the chaos but rather responded with all sense of maturity and confidence in the sanctity of the ballot. Had Kaduna responded in similar desperation as shown by the institutional riggers, perhaps curfew would have been slammed in several areas which would have created the perfect cover for the malpractices to happen. The hate speeches and incitement from the top government officials in Kaduna state government did not end on the platforms for the campaigns alone but went further to reflect in the exercise that held. There are several accounts going round about thugs accompanyin...

'Exported Nigeria yams weren't rejected' - Ministerial Aide

Yams harvested for market By YUSUF GOJE T he Technical Assistant to the Honorable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on Quality Control and Standardization, Mrs Heather R. Akanni, has adjudged Nigerian yams to be of high quality, debunking claims by some section of the media that the first exported products of yam were rejected due to poor quality. She stated that: “Nigerian yams were not rejected because of quality, but due to the long period it took to arrive its destination, some of the products got spoiled along the way. Unfortunately, some of the media outfits only chose to harp on a baseless standpoint that they were rejected". She disclosed that, "the law banning yam export is being reviewed and presently at the second reading stage in the National Assembly”. In ensuring that our yams continue to meet the international standards, she said, clustering of farmers to ensure that only approved certified yam seeds were made available to them is...

Quality Seeds: Farmers call for full Implementation of NASC Act

S equel to the recent signing of the National gricultural Seeds Council (NASC) Amendment Bill by President Muhammadu Buhari into law, the National Agricultural Seeds Advocacy Group (NASAG) during the week, in Abuja, played host to farmers’ associations, cooperatives, the civil society and other critical stakeholders to map out the way forward for the nation’s agricultural sector. The participants who were drawn from the three states of Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano and the FCT, among other things, reviewed engagements in the last quarter, results and challenges therefrom and developed a framework for tracking outcomes of advocacy, visa-vis improvement level so far of farmers’ access to quality seeds, with special emphasis on timely implementations of recommendations from NASAG’s dialogue with farmers. Representatives of the three states of Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano and the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) took turns to outline the inroads they have made in the period...

PERL trains Planning Officers, Citizens on Accountability, Service Delivery

As Stakeholders review 2022 Local Government Draft Budget Cross-section of participants at the engagement during a session By EDDY OCHIGBO, Kaduna I n its sustained drive to enhance accountability and seamless service delivery at the local government level in Kaduna state, Partnership to Engage and Learn in collaboration with Local Government Accountability Mechanism (LGAM), on Monday October 25, 2021, organized a two-day technical session to increase the capacity and technical expertise of citizen groups and planning officers in the state. To this end, the Local Government Accountability Mechanism (LGAM), a collaborative initiative of the Ministry for Local Government Affairs, Civil Society partners and Partnership to Engage, Reform & Learn (PERL/FCDO), working as technical working groups to strengthen governance at the grassroots, have reviewed the Kaduna state 2022 budget with trend analysis, observations and recommendations. The review of the ₦1,134,051...

Cubinks NEWS

Search This Blog