Sola Ojo, Kaduna
Talk of pervading sense of insecurity, violent deaths and destruction, in Kaduna, it doesn’t just rain. It pours. Survivors of the bloody attack on Bakali village, Kidandan Ward, Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Tuesday, who are still nursing their wounds and counting their losses, narrated to our correspondent, how bandits in army uniform invaded their community, and left in their trails, blood, sorrow, and pain that will take a long time to heal.
The people who are mainly into subsistence farming, cattle rearing, and livestock production, share common boundaries with Funtua Local Government Area in Katsina State, Birnin Gwari and Igabi Local Government, Kaduna State as well as Dandume and Sabuwa local governments.
The bandits who attacked and killed many of them are thought to have found their way into their community from surrounding local government areas in both Katsina and Kaduna State known for high banditry activities. They are therefore demanding special security presence to prevent recurrence of the bloodletting incident.
Take, for instance, Birnin-Gwari, the third largest emirate in Kaduna. Five hundred and eighty-eight people were said to have been killed between January 2016 and May 2019, while 27,465 people were displaced, 3,251 houses deserted and more than 10,401 hectares of arable farmland abandoned. ₦708,992,200.00 worth of cash, kidnap ransoms, vehicles, motorcycles, cows, goats were also said to have been lost to the activities of the bandits, a lawmaker from the area lamented.
Sad tale of a survivor
A survivor of the attack, Alhaji Sani Bakali, who spoke with Saturday Sun, explained that the angry bandits stormed their community around 4pm on Tuesday and killed in cold blood 23 people, including nine children. He added that, several property and farm produces worth millions of naira were destroyed during the attack.
“Our village came under severe attack on Tuesday, February 11, 2020,” he said. “Around 4 pm, we saw vigilantes running towards the community because they were being attacked by bandits who came prepared in their numbers.
“They came shooting at the vigilantes and our people which led to the death of some of our loved ones. After that, they started burning our houses including my family house. We have 13 people burnt to death. As of today, Wednesday, we discovered additional bodies on the farm. We are still searching for missing people. In all, we have counted 23 bodies. We lost nine children and three housewives, eight youths and one elderly man. We also found more two bodies on the farm.”
Tickling off on his fingers the losses, he said: “They burnt two houses. They burnt about 14 vehicles, about five motorcycles and went away with some motorcycles into the bush. They rustled all our cows. I am talking about 250 cows. They burnt about 385 bags of maize, rice, beans and so on. Our community leaders went to inform them (security agencies) about what was happening. But they could not take any action in good time.”
How the bandits outwitted us – Vigilance group leader
Another survivor, a leader of the local vigilance group in Bakali, Kabiru Yusuf, revealed how the attackers walked into their midst without any suspicion because they were fully kitted in military camouflage and wreaked havoc on the security arrangements of the unsuspecting defenders.
His words: “We woke up on that fateful day to embark on our legitimate businesses. That was going on well until afternoon. Around 4 pm, we were alerted by our local intelligence that security personnel were coming. We did not foresee the impending intention of the so-called security personnel who took us unaware. While we were together on the road because they were disguised as soldiers, all of a sudden, they started behaving funny and before we knew what was happening, they started shooting at our people.
“But the firearms they bore were more thunderous than what we could overpower even though we attempted to prevent them from attacking our people. They had already walked in, because we mistook them for soldiers, before we realised that they were not real soldiers but enemies. We lost one of our active members in the attack.”
A lawmaker laments and sues for help
Reacting to the development, a member of the House of Representatives from the local government, Shehu Balarabe Giwa, described the attack on the people of his constituency as most unfortunate.
Balarabe who spoke with Saturday Sun via telephone expressed concern over persistent bloody attacks on armless Nigerians despite the efforts of the government and security operatives. The former commissioner in the state noted that, the welfare and security of lives and property of the citizens, remains the primary responsibility of government as stipulated by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
The lawmaker, who had on Wednesday moved a motion on the development, on the floor of the green chamber of the National Assembly said the enduring and rising cases of armed attacks across the country, particularly in Birnin Gwari and Giwa Local Government Areas of Kaduna State, have continued unabated from 2016 till date.
In his speech, he said: “Just last week in Randagi and Kakangi wards in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area, they invaded and killed 12 people, injured over 100 persons, kidnapped a lot of persons and burnt down several houses. Just yesterday (Tuesday, February 11, 2020), they invaded Bakali village in Kidandan Ward, in Giwa Local Government Area and killed over 20 persons and burnt several cars. Worst of all, they went ahead to burn alive, people who ran into their houses for safety, right in their homes.
“I am concerned that the situation has negatively impacted on agricultural and economic activities in the affected wards, resulting in joblessness, hunger, health epidemic and brought untold hardship on the people who are mostly seeking refuge in public primary schools and homes of their relatives, within and outside the state.”
Though he commended the efforts so far made by the Federal Government, the Emir of Birnin Gwari and most especially, the State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, who in partnership with security agencies, are seeking ways to curtail the situation including the establishment of an Air force detachment at Birnin Gwari, he expressed worries that, these efforts have not been able to address the issue.
He urged the Federal government to prevail on security agencies, to task the Inspector General of Police, the Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Air Staff, and the heads of security agencies, to deploy more personnel and to also intensify their operations within Birnin Gwari and Giwa Local Government Areas of Kaduna State so as to quickly restore normalcy in the area.
He called on the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, as well as relevant disaster management agencies like National Emergency Management Agency and National Commission for Refugees Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons and Ministry, to quickly intervene by assisting victims who are in need of food, medicare, clothes, shelter and other relief materials.
An Islamic religious leader weighs in
Speaking on the negative impact of insecurity in the North, a traditional and religious figure in Kaduna, Bunun Zazzau, Alhaji BalaTijjani Mohammed, noted that if the community-police policing machine being envisaged across the country by law-enforcement authorities would protect Nigerians from constant attacks from bandits and other violent criminals, then the case of Shege-Ka-Fasa, which some Northern youths and opinion leaders are advocating for should be critically looked into and, instead of totally jettisoning the idea as some people are calling for, have it modified, where necessary, to fit into the model and concept that the police authorities have in mind.
“There are cries from the public for an overhaul of the leadership of the government security apparatuses because they came into office with plans to get rid of the problem and now their plans are no longer working,” he said. “It worked for about two years and that was it. We need fresh ideas.”
Police assures of adequate security
The Police are yet to issue any public statement on the development. But the command’s spokesman, ASP Mohammed Jalige, while reacting to the killings in Maro village, a border community between Kajuru and Kachia Local Government Areas of the state, a day after Giwa’s, assured that the command was trying hard to protect lives and property of the people of the state. Seven persons were confirmed killed in Maro village.
A part of his statement read: “The command was deeply saddened by the incident and had already beefed up security to ensure no further breakdown of law and order. The command calls on the public to promptly report any suspicious activities or persons to the nearest security agencies with a view to proactively prevent re-occurrence of dastardly acts against law-abiding citizens of the state.”