The Kaduna State Government has said it will not shy away from confronting threats to peace, law and order in the state.

The State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, gave the assurance at the Security Stakeholders Engagement at Zangon Kataf LGA on Tuesday.

Lamenting at the rate of destruction and killings in the state, Aruwan said despite the horrors, the bloodshed and the losses the state witnessed last year, he was aghast to have realised that some people have continued stubbornly, on the path of ignorance and mindless hate, determining in their hearts to kill and to maim their fellow human beings.

According to the commissioner, “We are all witnesses to the chain of events that brought us to this point. If I may take us back briefly, you recall that in January 2020, two ladies were killed by bandits at the Gora weekly market. A couple of days later, three herders were killed in a reprisal. It continued in March 2020 with killings and counter-killings of locals and herders.

“The violence exploded in June 2020, precisely on the 5th, when a land dispute between Hausa and Atyap groups escalated and crops were destroyed on the disputed land. Some youths were injured in the violence. By the 10th of June, a farmer from Kibori-Asha Awuce went missing, and his corpse was found the next day. Immediately, the road leading to Zango-Urban and to Bakin Kogi was blocked, and innocent commuters were killed. Fulani settlements were attacked, razed, and many residents were killed.

“In July 2020, an attack on Chibob left many dead, houses burnt and many other properties destroyed. Many Atyap communities were further attacked after that.

“By August 2020, the Atyap Chiefdom Peace and Security Partnership Committee, with the blessings of His Highness put forward a resolution as a firm step towards peace in the Chiefdom, which was signed by Hausa, Fulani and Atyap leaders. We thought we had made progress, even though some groups openly sneered at these sincere efforts and called them a waste of time. Forces of darkness and evil took us backward and we were back to the trenches.

“Between the 18th and 20th of March 2021, there were several cases reported of crops destroyed in one of the flash-point areas. When a team of community leaders was put together to resolve the issue, they mysteriously went missing. Some of them eventually returned, but three of them were never seen after that. A farmer was killed, and a herder was also killed in retaliation. Cattle were then killed and burnt, while farms and crops were destroyed and blood kept flowing.”

The commissioner noted that, since the conflict, the state have continued to experience violence, killings and reprisals and more brutal with each occurrence.

He added that the state have witnessed repeated attacks on cattle, and the persistent destruction of farmlands, seemingly with no end in sight.

He also noted that the conflict has plunged the state in a brink of food insecurity, education been halted, adding that the rural economy is also heading towards total collapse and health services cannot be accessed.

Aruwan stressed that the unwillingness to embrace recourse to law, the failure to accept responsibility and the failure to align with peace, is what has brought the domain to retrogression.

He maintained that peace can never be externally enforced on a community.

Condemning the recent unrest in the region, Aruwan said there is no justification for killing and maiming innocent people on their farms or homes.

He charged community leaders to step up to reverse the cycle before the entire communities perish, adding that the government has played its roles diligently.

The State Government, however reassured that it remains committed to security as a foundation for sustainable development.

While charging the community leaders to wake up to their responsibility, it expressed gratitude to the leaders who have being supportive.

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