Prominent civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), on Sunday blasted Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State over the unending killing of innocent Nigerians by Fulani bandits and terrorists in his state.
HURIWA's National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, in a statement, lamented that Kaduna is now a killing field for marauders under El-Rufai’s watch while the governor has failed woefully as the chief security officer of the state with the cardinal responsibility to protect lives and property.
The group also expressed stark dissatisfaction that despite the unprecedented and callous murder of residents of the state by vicious AK-47-wielding non-state actors, especially in Southern Kaduna, the El-Rufai government and security agencies have failed to arrest or prosecute any suspect to a logical conclusion.
HURIWA described as shocking the data released by the state government on Friday that 446 people were killed by bandits and terrorists from April to September 2022 while 985 persons were kidnapped during the period under review across the state.
Commenting, HURIWA’s Onwubiko said, “The massacre that has been going on in Kaduna under Governor Nasir El-Rufai is condemnable and shows crass failure of the governor who is supposed to be the chief security officer of the state charged with the duty to protect lives and property.
“However, the body language of the governor continues to enable the guillotine of residents of the state, particularly in Southern Kaduna which has been the most hit victim of terrorism and banditry since El-Rufai became governor.
“For instance, in 2021, the state government said a total number of 1,192 people were killed by bandits and 3,348 abducted across Kaduna. In 2020, at least 937 people were killed by bandits and terrorists, the state government reported.
“Aside from the fact that these figures must have been doctored and reduced, the stark reality in Kaduna confronts any sane person. However, one thing is certain: Kaduna is a place of sorrow, tears, and blood as marauders with religious and genocidal agendas continue to hide under communal clashes to maul innocent Christians in Southern Kaduna.
“The mass graves dug under El-Rufai alone will send anyone into pain and anguish. How terrorists can have a field day in the state despite the heavy military presence is still unfathomable. For starters, Kaduna has no fewer than six military formations including Jaji Military Cantonment; 1 Mech. Division Headquarters, Nigerian Army, Kaduna; New Barracks, otherwise known as ‘Kotoko’ Barracks; Old Site of the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna; Kalanpazi Barracks (Artillery Regiment). But the military has allegedly turned blind eyes to the despicable atrocities of terrorists due to alleged tribal sentiments. In fact, recently, Gov. El-Rufai had boasted of controlling the police, the Army, and the DSS and that he can order for the arrest of whomsoever he wishes in Kaduna State. So how come that terrorists are having field days in his state and yet this ‘big man’ who commands the ‘armed forces’ located in his State has allowed these mass killings to thrive?”
“El-Rufai is a big accidental administration in Kaduna and the people are worst off for bringing in the most allegedly divisive bigot as governor. Under him, non-state actors who are mostly of the same ethnoreligious affiliations as the governor feel emboldened to kill Southern Kaduna Christians at will and occupy their lands. The government is doing nothing to bring these killers to justice or take justice to them.
