Zangon Kataf: Bandits ‘killed 518 people, destroyed 18 villages’ in five years

The Atyap Community Development Association (ACDA) says no fewer than 518 people have been killed by suspected bandits during attacks on communities in Zangon Kataf LGA of Kaduna state since 2017.

During a press conference on Monday in Samaru Kataf, Zangon Kataf LGA, Samuel Achie, president of ACDA, said while 20 communities in the LGA were displaced, 18 others have been razed to ashes since 2017 to date.

Achie accused military personnel deployed to the area of “selective intervention” by “taking side with the herdsmen”.

“As at the last count, 20 villages have been displaced, 18 villages burnt down, while 518 people killed with thousands of victims who have taken refuge across many communities from 2017 till date,” he said.

“Instead of performing their primary assignment of securing all lives and properties of the communities, they are selective by taking side with the herdsmen.”

Achie also faulted Timothy Opurum, sector commander of Operation Safe Haven, for attributing the latest killings in the LGA to the poisoning of over 70 cows belonging to herders.

“This came to us as a surprise because he (Opurum) knows of a standing agreement in Atyap land that any proven case of cow poisoning against any community, such community shall be responsible for replacing such cows.

“In the same coin, the owner of any cow that destroys any farm shall bear full responsibility for such destruction.

“With this agreement, it was the mischief of the highest order at work when the Brig. Gen. justified the murder, killing, and burning of innocent people and their properties on the basis of false allegations of cow poisoning.

“The systematic attacks, killings, and burning going on in Atyap by armed militias with the collaboration of the local herdsmen, shall be resisted with the last drop of our blood.

“We call on our people to exercise their natural, fundamental, and constitutional right of self-defence against any further unprovoked attacks. 

“Enough is enough. We also want to make it very clear that, henceforth, any attack on any of our communities will attract a total no-go area for rearing cows.”

Achie also called on the state government and security agencies to evacuate migrant herdsmen “to where they came from, as was done with Almajiris”, to stop the attacks.