Herdsmen attack Kaduna villages, kill 11

No fewer than 11 persons were killed when Fulani herdsmen attacked two villages, near Godogodo town in the Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Monday and Tuesday.

The two villages, the villagers claimed, were also razed by the rampaging herdsmen.

But the Kaduna State Police Command Spokesman, Aliyu Usman, who confirmed the incident, said the villages were partially burnt, and that the police were fully on ground and had restored law and order in the affected communities.

In the first village, Gada Biyu, the herdsmen were said to have killed nine people including six men and three women while two men were killed in Akwa’a, the second village.

Meanwhile, Governor Nasir el-Rufai through his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Samuel Aruwan, in a statement, on Wednesday, expressed sadness over the attacks, noting that killings under whatever guise remained condemned.

The statement read, “The Kaduna State Government condemns the murders that were perpetrated by criminal elements that attacked our communities in Gida Biyu, Akwa’a and Angwan Anjo in Jema’a Local Government Area. The Governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, extends his condolence to the survivors and the families of the victims.”

Villagers from the affected villages said they had become homeless and refugees in Godogodo, Gidan Waya, and neighbouring towns.

A community leader, who craved anonymity said the suspected herdsmen came back after the police and security operatives had left to burn down the villages.

He said, “When they came to Gada Biyu on Monday morning and killed people, they only burnt part of the village, before the police arrived. At Akwa’a, they could not burn the place, because the police allowed the native youths to join them in chasing out the herdsmen who were over a hundred and well armed. In the same way, Anguwan Anjo was saved.

“The Police were in Anguwan Anjul, but left later in the night. Just as we suspected, the Fulani re-entered our villages and burnt them down. Fortunately, we had all left. There are about 1000 houses in Anguwan Anjo where I come from. Gada Biyu and Kwa’a are smaller villages but they have hundreds of houses there too. All now lie in ruins.

“This is the height of the rainy season, and we cannot return home. They have become much more violent since they were told that our lands are part of the Sanga Grazing Reserves.”