Yesterday was indeed a sad Sunday day in Nigeria as blood-thirsty gunmen and Boko Haram terrorists went in a killing spree and felled no fewer than 20 persons in various attacks.
In Kaduna State, a band of unrepentant bandits attacked worshippers at Haske Baptist Church, Manini community, Chikun local government of the state and killed one person and abducted five others.
The victim of the cruel attack was a staff of the state ministry of health, Dr Zakariya Dogo Yaro
According to an eyewitness, Mr. Jacob Bala, the brigands arrived around 9am when church service was going on and opened fire on the worshippers.
“Church service was going on when gunmen just came and surrounded the church and started shooting. They came at about 9am. They were many and they were riding on motorcycles. They started shooting indiscriminately as we scampered for safety.
“My uncle, Dr. Zakariya Dogo Yaro, was killed instantly. He works with the Kaduna state ministry of health. They shot him and he died on the spot.
“They kidnapped five people, including my late brother’s wife, my step mother, my elder brother’s daughter and two other people,” Bala said.
Spokesman for the state police command, Mr. Mohammed Jalige who confirmed the incident however said the bandits abducted only four worshippers during the invasion.
“Today (yesterday) 25th April, 2021 at about 0900hrs the command received the unfortunate report of bandits’ invasion of Manini Tasha village of Kuriga ward in the Chikun LGA of Kaduna State.
“The report has it that the bandits in large numbers bearing dangerous weapons invaded the village and shot sporadically which resulted in people scampering for safety in different directions.
“Preliminary investigation conducted so far revealed that four persons are missing which arouse a suspicion that they might have been kidnapped by the hoodlums, while two others sustained gunshot wounds, namely Dr. Zakariya Doga Yaro, a member of staff of Kaduna State Ministry of Health attached to the Primary Healthcare Center in Rimi village in the Chikun LGA and Shehu Haruna.
“Unfortunately, Dr. Zakariya Yaro died on the spot while Shehu Haruna is currently receiving medical treatment,” he said.
Similarly, bandits invaded Bagoma community in Birnin Gwari local government area of the state and killed six persons.
Bandits also attacked Amfu village in Kachia council area where they shot a woman to death.
The commissioner for internal security and home affairs, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, confirmed the attacks in a statement saying security agencies reported to the government that armed bandits attacked the congregants.
“According to the report, about four worshippers were abducted from the church. One resident, Shehu Mainika, was injured in the general area by the bandits.
“In other reports received from security agencies, bandits also invaded Bagoma village in Birnin Gwari local government area of the state and killed six persons.
“Also reported was an attack by armed bandits at Amfu village in Kachia LGA, in which one Mrs. Rahila Dauda was shot dead,” Aruwan said.
“Finally, the partially burnt corpse of a seven-year-old, Abubakar Sarki Musa, was found in an uncompleted building in Hayin Danmani area, Rigasa in Igabi LGA.
Kaduna State, it would be recalled, has, of late, become the hotbed of banditry.
They have invaded schools and communities killing and kidnapping people.
Last week, they attacked a private university, Greenfield University and abducted no fewer than 50 undergraduates.
Some days later, three of the abducted students were executed.
Also yesterday, gunmen operating on Omagwa/Isiokpo/Elele Owerri Road in Rivers State raided checkpoints and killed eight security operatives.
The deceased were made up of three were military personnel, three customs officials and two policemen.
Some were reportedly beheaded while others were burnt beyond recognition.
According to police situation report dated April 25, the gunmen were members of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB).
Spokesman for the state police command, Mr. Nnamdi Omoni, confirmed the attack adding that the state commissioner of police, Mr. Eboka Friday had launched an investigation into the attack.
“I can confirm the attack on security personnel along the Omagwa/Isiokpo/Elele – Owerri Road, and details are sketchy.
“The commissioner of police, Mr. Eboka Friday, has launched a full scale investigation into the dastardly attack with a view to arresting the perpetrators and bringing them to justice.
“Meanwhile, the area is now calm with reinforced and increased joint patrols on the stretch of the road and other areas in the state by security agencies.
“So far, the state is calm and secure, and no cause for alarm,” Omoni stated.
Reacting to the incident, the state governor, Mr. Nyesom said in a statement by his media aide, Mr. Kelvin Ebiri that there was no justification for the attack against “innocent security personnel on legitimate duty of protecting life and property in the state.”
“The government of Rivers State is saddened by the unwarranted callous attack on security personnel. We offer our sympathies to the relatives of those who lost their lives in the attack,” the statement said and urged the security agencies in the state to be vigilant.
Meanwhile, Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) and Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA) have blamed both the state and federal governments for the attack on schools, communities, and churches.
Speaking on the Kaduna attacks, SOKAPU said the state El-Rufai was fast becoming a “paradise” of sorts for bandits that kidnapped people on a daily basis.
It said families in Southern Kaduna last year paid roughly N1 billion in ransom to free their abducted relatives.
“Kaduna State is unarguably Nigeria’s kidnappers’ paradise. It is also the safest place for arsonists and violent land grabbers. There doesn’t seem to be any serious attempt at uprooting them, especially in Southern Kaduna.
“It is sad that only published kidnapped cases are given attention by the public, but they constitute just a fraction of that crime going on in the state.
“In our press statement of 23rd April, 2021, we affirmed that 65 Adara natives from Libere Gida, in Kallah ward and Kajuru ward were kidnapped last Tuesday night. 55 are still with the abductors after 10 managed to escape.
“The remaining 29 students of Federal School of Forestry, Afaka, Kaduna are still with their kidnappers for over 40 days now. They are now threatening to kill the males and marry off the girls if N500m ransom is not paid.
“Of course the kidnapped students of Greenfield University, Kasarami, in the Chikun LGA in Southern Kaduna are still hostages of their kidnappers after three of them were killed in cold blood. The murderers are asking for N800m in exchange for their freedom.”
“Chikun ward in the Chikun LGA is virtually under the unchallenged control of the outlaws among other places.
“Last year alone, we made a conservative estimate of N1bn as the amount kidnapped Southern Kaduna families and friends paid to these cold blooded criminals.
“Kidnapping and related crimes continue unabated in Southern Kaduna because there are no consequences for the criminals whom surviving victims have always said are armed herdsmen,” said spokesman for the union, Mr. Luka Binniyat told Punch in an interview.
For its part, HURIWA blamed the bandits’ invasion of churches and schools on President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
It said in a statement by its national coordinator, Mr. Emmanuel Onwubiko, that Buhari’s failure to dismiss the minister of communications and digital economy, Dr Isa Pantami even after he confessed expressing sympathy and support for global Jihadists movements of Al-Qaida and Taliban has further emboldened the terrorists to up their game.
HURIWA stated that the terrorists had got the signal that they could operate and kill as much as they want and nothing will happen to them because “those wielding governmental powers are sympathizers of terrorism”.
“We believe that President Muhammadu Buhari does not just have the political will to stop these killings but he is deeply suspected to be sympathetic to their activities given that he has rubbished the clamour for the sack of his minister who espoused dangerous pro-Taliban and Pro-Al-Qaida sentiments and ideological leanings. Only global leaders can help Nigerians stop the imminent war in Nigeria because the government does not care a hoot,” HURIWA stated.
Similarly, the Pan Niger Delta Forum condemned the attack on the church in Kaduna State.
National publicity secretary of PANDEF, Mr. Ken Robinson said the series of unprovoked attacks and killings showed what had become of the country while the government.
“It shows what the country has become and it is disturbing that we continue to condemn and react to these activities of bandits in the country. And the government sits comfortably,” he said.
