New Attack: 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.”