Catholic church says 808 people have been killed in Southern Kaduna crisis

The Catholic Archdiocese of Kafanchan says suspected herdsmen have killed at least 808 people in different communities in southern Kaduna.

Ibrahim Yakubu, vicar-general of the diocese, said this in a statement issued on Thursday.

Yakubu said the federal and states governments had failed “woefully” in tackling the situation.

“Four local government areas have been attacked, with 808 people killed and 1,422 houses, 16 Churches, 19 shops, and one primary school destroyed,” the statement read.

“Unfortunately, our government both at the centre and state levels have failed woefully. We call on Southern Kaduna indigenes to remain steadfast in prayer, united, strong and never to cave in to the antics of our adversaries.

“The herdsmen and their ilk turned the towns into killing fields and killed mostly women, children and the elderly who couldn’t run for cover.

“The level of barbarity was such that pregnant women got their wombs blown out and massacred before their children. And these innocent children were not spared either.

“This level of viciousness was never witnessed even in the brutal tyranny and regime of Adolf Hitler. What is most intriguing is the level of sophistication of weapons; Ak 47, Machine Guns and many other deadly instruments of death were freely.

“The viciousness of these self styled Jihadists sends shivers into the spines of our traumatized people. In the Godogodo and Pasakori attacks for example, the military merely watched and supervised the burning of our homes. When the youth mobilised to repel the attackers, the soldiers deliberately blocked them from entering the town.”

The church also announced the rejection of the N100 million which Nasir el-Rufai, governor of the state, donated for the reconstruction of worship places destroyed in  the affected areas.

Yakubu said the money should be used in compensating those who have been rendered homeless.

On December 21, the state government imposed a 24-hour curfew on Jema’a, Kaura and Zangon-Kataf local government areas to check widespread violence.

Despite the curfew, suspected herdsmen attacked Goska village in Jema’a local government on December 24.

The Southern Kaduna Peoples’ Union (SOKAPU) has blamed Nasir el-Rufai, governor of the state, for the fresh attacks.

El-Rufai’s convoy was attacked in Kafanchan in the heat of the crisis.