El-Rufai Names Mastermind of Kaduna Killings, Orders His Arrest

The Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, has appealed to residents of Chawai chiefdom, Kauru Local Government Area of the state to give peace a chance,  following the attack on the people of the area by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

 Nasir El-Rufai

The attack left no fewer than 38 people dead.

The governor made the appeal when he paid a condolence visit to the affected communities on Monday.

He was accompanied on the visit by the  Secretary to the State Government, Baralabe Abbas-Lawal, members of the State Security Council as well as other top government functionaries.

This is just as el-Rufai ordered the immediate arrest of one Haruna, a Fulani herdsman, who was accused of being behind the attack on the four communities in Chawai chiefdom, Kauru Local Government in Southern Kaduna.

The four communities – Kigam, Ungwan Rimi, Ungwan Magaji in Kauru Local Government Area were attacked by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

El-Rufai described the incident as barbaric and unfortunate.

The killings came barely 24 hours after the unveiling of an ‘apology billboard’ at Samaru-Kataf to signal the return of peace to the southern part of the state.

A disagreement over a disputed land triggered the violence.

The said Haruna was fingered by the villagers as one of the prime masterminds of the attack and  was said to have relocated from the area to escape arrest.

El-Rufai, while addressing the villagers at the Chawai Primary School, where Internally Displaced Persons,  numbering over 500 were camped, directed Haruna to turn up himself to Fulani chiefs(Ardo) in the area or be arrested by security operatives in the state.

“He should be arrested by security agents to come and tell us his grievances why what happened should happen; why human lives should be taken as animals,” el-Rufai said in Hausa language.

The governor, who described the attack as ungodly, insisted that the perpetrators must be brought to book, maintaining that his administration would not condone such heinous act.