A
politician has narrated how his little daughter of 14 years was
brutally murdered by Fulani herdsmen with AK-47 and his house set on
fire.
Fulani Herdsmen with AK-47 (File photo)
A former Chairman of Jama’a Local Government Area in Kaduna State,
Gideon Morik has told the sad story how her little 14-year-old daughter
was brutally murdered by Fulani herdsmen with AK-47 rifles after they
attacked his village in Southern Kaduna.
In an exclusive interview with Punch, he revealed details of the incident which still haunts him till today.
Can you share your experience concerning the Southern Kaduna killings?
Three villages were razed down by marauding herdsmen. After attacks
on those villages, the surviving people, who are our kith and kin, had
to move to my own area, Goska. Interestingly, the herdsmen followed
these people to Goska to attack us. On December 24, 2016, at about 5pm
which was Christmas Eve, the herdsmen struck as we were preparing for
the Yuletide celebration. Our village was surrounded by these Fulani
herdsmen. They were all armed with AK-47 rifles. There is a Fulani
settlement near our village called Angoma, about 2km away from Goska.
They came from there to attack our village. The attack went on for two
hours with dozens of buildings set ablaze. I witnessed six people being
killed by the herdsmen. Where I hid, I watched the herdsmen kill people;
a woman was killed with her two-month-old baby. I also watched as the
Fulani herdsmen killed my 14-year-old daughter. I felt helpless. I
couldn’t do anything. I was in shock. I also witnessed a 10-year-old boy
being shot dead.
There was no security agency to save us from these marauders. It
took the police three hours to arrive. Unfortunately, before they
arrived, the damage had been done. Most of the inhabitants of the
villages have fled to neighbouring towns to seek shelter. I still wonder
how the attack was carried out since there was a curfew when they
struck. They had a field day destroying lives and property. No proper
security arrangement was in place. On the eve of my daughter’s burial,
another area in the local government was attacked. For more than a month
now, no arrest has been made. Right now on our farms are Fulani
herdsmen moving freely with AK-47 rifles. We cannot go to our farms to
harvest crops; that’ll be a suicidal attempt. We have informed the
police about the situation; no action has been taken. Even before the
attacks, we got a letter that these herdsmen were coming for us; we
wrote to the police about it but nothing was done. My six-bedroomed flat
was razed down and my mother’s house too was razed down. All the
vehicles parked in the garage were burnt.
It was reported that the government said the attackers were foreigners. What do you make of that?
It is a funny statement. Let us assume that they are foreigners;
don’t we have immigration? The statement of Governor Nasir el-Rufai is a
direct indictment on the Federal Government and the Kaduna State
Government. The government has a responsibility to deport foreigners who
have chosen not to be law-abiding. The government claimed to have paid
these Fulani herdsmen to stop attacking our people. Apparently, the
government knows these people; because if you don’t know them, how did
they pay them? Even after the payment, we were still attacked by the
herdsmen and there was no arrest. It is a curious situation we are in.
We do not understand what they are after. Who should be compensated: the
victims or the attackers? What is happening is like paying an armed
robber not to rob people again. What kind of arrangement is that? One
thing is certain, the governor has told the whole world that he knows
the attackers because if he didn’t know them he couldn’t have paid them.
We have not received any relief materials from the government.
Do you think the attacks have anything to do with religion?
Most of the areas attacked are areas that are predominantly
Christian. Why is it that the areas occupied by Muslims are not being
attacked? Anytime there is an attack, the Christians are the ones being
attacked. They say they (the attackers) are foreigners but who harbours
them? Is it that the grand patron of these Fulani herdsmen and a Fulani
man who is in charge of this state (Kaduna) cannot rein in these people
or what? Are they not supposed to be fair to all manner of people under
them as contained in the Oath of Office they took? What we have seen so
far is favouritism and a lopsided security arrangement. We don’t know if
there is a particular agenda they want to achieve.
What’s the way forward?
Our chiefs are meeting with the concerned authorities to ensure
peace and order in the area. Any moment from now, rain will begin to
fall in Kaduna State. We want to go back to our village to farm. We have
written to the President (Muhammadu Buhari) and the state government
but we have not received any response. We don’t want to jump the gun. We
will wait to see what the government will do. We hope the government
will take action. If eventually the government does not do anything, as
they say in my area, the ‘land will speak for itself.’
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