The journey from Abuja through Keffi and up to “border” between Kaduna and Nasarawa states was smooth despite the pot-holed road and the menacing high speed of the drivers plying the road. But the situation was different when one reached Kwoi town, the headquarters of Jaba Local Government, Kaduna State.


Less than half a kilometre to the junction leading to Kwoi town, there were checkpoints numbering about five - all manned by gun-toting and bullet-proof-kitted soldiers. Traffic was slowed; drivers and passengers alike were commanded in husky military voice, to surrender their luggage for a thorough search.



While motorists surrender to the gun-toting soldiers, at the background was a scene that partly explained the reason behind the soldiers’ presence and unfriendly action. Few meters away from that junction, structures that resembled houses, shops, mosques were not only burnt but razed to the ground. A place that used to be a small garage was destroyed with vehicles numbering about three burnt down.

The 45-hour journey from Kwoi town to Kafanchan was characterised by uncountable checkpoints mounted by soldiers in some cases by mobile police. As one traversed the villages towards Kafanchan, the headquarters of Jema’a local government, one meets burnt vehicles at most of the road blocks manned by the law enforcement agents.

“These roadblocks were mounted by the indigenous tribesmen during the crisis that engulfed the area and most of these vehicles were those of unsuspecting victims who were caught along the road during the pogrom. Most of them were killed and their vehicles, as you can see, burnt. The soldiers took over the roadblocks when they were deployed here,” Lydia, a nurse, who was in the same Kafanchan –bound vehicle with this reporter, said.

Apart from people going about their normal businesses, Kafanchan is a ghost of its former self with burnt residential houses, business premises and places of worship dotting every part of the town. This is apart from the various military checkpoints at very short intervals across the town.


How the carnage took place

The crisis that led to the wanton destruction of lives and property in Kafanchan town was carried out between the hours of 9 pm on 18 April, 2011 to 12 noon on 19 of April, 2011, when the soldiers arrived. The carnage, according to the representative of Jama’a Foundation, Alhaji Abdullahi Garba Maisukuni, was perpetrated within 30 hours before the arrival of the military. “On that fateful Monday, 18 April, we received distressed calls from Muslim communities in Zonkwa, Zangon Kataf local government that they were surrounded by Christian militants, who were bent on killing them,” he said.

While the killings were going on in Zonkwa, allegedly by armed Christian youths, other Muslim settlements in Southern Kaduna were not spared. “The massacre, which left hundreds of Muslims mowed to death and their property destroyed was replicated in Samaru, Kagoro town, Madakiya, Matsirga, Unguwar Rimi, Gidan Maga, Tsarkiya, Sabon Garin Kwoi, among others. All the Muslims communities were wiped out with very few who fled taking refuge in Kaduna and Keffi,” he said.

“Unknown to us, Kafanchan town which is the largest Muslim settlement in southern Kaduna, was already under siege. All roads leading to or from the town were blocked by Christian militants. The first known victim of Kafanchan crisis was a Muslim commercial driver named Nasiru Jere, who was forcefully stopped, killed and his body burnt alongside his vehicle at Gidan Bature, along Unguwar Rimi-Kafanchan road that fateful Monday. All this was reported to the police in Kafanchan,” Maisukuni explained.

“The onslaughts on Kafanchan started around 9pm when gunshots rented the air with buildings surrounding the town set ablaze. We realised that the whole town was under siege and the rampaging militants had encircled the town killing, burning properties. We quickly informed our people to warn them of the impending danger through a call of prayers. The killings and burning of business premises, mosques, houses, continued unabated by the invading Christian militants for about 30 hours until when the soldiers arrived around noon the next day,” he said.

This crisis has the greatest toll on the socio-economic life of Kafanchan town than ever before. The Kafanchan central market and Kafanchan central motor park- the biggest market and garage in the entire southern Kaduna were reduced to ashes during the pogrom.

Sule Yahaya of the Jama’a Indigenous Muslim Forum, told this reporter that “the Kafanchan Central Market, predominantly owned by Hausa and Igbo traders was looted before it was razed down. Also, the largest garage in southern Kaduna, with over 70 commercial vehicles was also burnt down. Over 300 Muslims were killed and Muslim residences numbering about 270 were burnt down.”


Soldiers’ house-to-house ‘search for weapons’

While the people of Kafanchan are nursing their wounds, having buried their dead, confusion set in Saturday, 11 June when a team of soldiers stormed the town barging into houses of Muslims “searching for weapons.” Malam Ya’u (not real names) whose house was the first to be ransacked by the soldiers told this reporter his experience.

“It was on Saturday afternoon when I heard my children and wives crying. Before I could come out from my room and inquire about what was happening, I saw soldiers butting in ransacking every nook and cranny of the house. We were so confused; we thought it was the attackers that came in broad day light to kill us having survived their first onslaught,” he said.

The situation, it was gathered, led to pandemonium inside Kafanchan with people going helter skelter. “After three houses were ransacked with no weapons, the situation created serious tension in the town some people saying that the Christian attackers had stormed Kafanchan again camouflaged in military uniforms. The emir of Jama’a had to invite the military team to his palace and the situation calmed down,” Yahaya told this reporter.

Reacting to this, the spokesperson of Jama’a Foundation explained that “we are not against search for weapons by soldiers. But is shouldn’t be selective. If at all we have weapons as those people are saying, do you think we would allow those attackers kill our people, stole our properties and destroy them? Go round Kafanchan town and see the level of destruction. Our offence only was: we refused to allow ourselves to be massacred like the Muslims of Zonkwa.”

In the same vein, the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa on Media and Publicity, Mr Reuben Buhari, told Sunday Trust that he was not aware of the soldiers’ invasion of Kafanchan town, searching for weapons. He said that the soldiers were deployed to the area to maintain peace following the riot that trailed the presidential election in the area.

“They are there to keep peace and this is why we are appealing to the people of the area to, in the interest of peace, cooperate with them so that we can have peace. Peace is paramount to the development of the state,” Buhari said.


What the military authorities say

When our correspondent contacted the military authorities on the alleged “cordon and search” invasion of the houses of residents of Kafanchan town by soldiers in search of weapons and ammunitions, the spokesperson of the 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna, Lieutenant Colonel Abubakar Edun said the soldiers who are currently in Kafanchan are not from the division.

The military spokesperson explained that the soldiers who are on Internal Security Operations (ISO) in Kafanchan were deployed from the 3 Division in Plateau State. He was, therefore, not in the position to explain the alleged invasion of people’s residences in Kafanchan town searching for weapons.

“Kafanchan is under our area of jurisdiction, but the soldiers who are there on Internal Security Operations (ISO) are not from our division. They were deployed from 3 Division because of the proximity of Kafanchan to Plateau State. So, I don’t know anything about the invasion. In fact, I’m just hearing of it from you,” Edun said.


Pastor Kure’s allegations

A day after the pandemonium that engulfed the town as a result of the soldiers’ search of the houses of Kafanchan town residents for weapons, Apostle Emmanuel Nuhu Kure of the Throne Room Trust Ministry, Kafanchan, added to the ensuing confusion when he made several allegations against the Hausa-Fulani Muslims of Kafanchan in an interview with The Sun newspaper last Sunday.

Pastor Kure explained that, “First of all, it is clear that the whole crisis was thoroughly pre-planned with logistics set out and lines of action and operation spelt out clearly. Otherwise, how would you explain a spontaneous call to prayer on most of the loudspeakers in the mosques across the city at the same time at 9pm or thereabout with a shout of Allahu Akbar? Muslims began to troop toward, the mosques and designated areas to be followed at 10pm with another call on loudspeakers. This was repeated a few times and the killings and burnings began.

“How come the fighters on that night wore black dresses or dark pants like a coloured uniform and surrounded the walls of the Anglican Cathedral and the Yoruba Baptist pastor’s house and setting them on fire while shooting, without any resistance if it was not premeditated and planned? Is that what is referred to as “peaceful demonstration and gathering?

“In the history of this great nation, I am not aware of any demonstration at night by 9 to 10pm except they were clandestine. How come during their operation, they seemed to have reinforcement centres where they went to for either arms/ammunition or some form of coordination? Some reports even mentioned some coordination and movement from the Emir’s palace. This led to some of these locations being attacked after the attackers became short on arms and could not sustain the movement anymore. One of the houses of my Muslim neighbour that was set on fire had bullet shells and other things exploding from it,” Kure added.

“Thirdly, the kind of heavy guns and weapons used have never been heard of in the history of unrest in Kaduna State. This was why they overran almost the whole city before the youths, by the next day, could muster courage to push them back. Danhaya Street is a summary of what happened. It is the Berlin Wall from which the Muslims attacked the Christians before the Christians gained composure. No Christian building is standing there except by a strange miracle,” the cleric said.


Kure is mischievous - Muslims

Reacting to Kure’s allegations, Maisukuni said that the evangelist and his co-travellers, “are not happy that we survived the attempted massacre by the Christian militants. How was it that Hausa-Fulani community, if at all possessed weapons as Kure insinuated, could not defend themselves from the attack until a reprieve came from the military after recording uncountable losses?”

“It is very childish to assume that the Muslim minority in Kafanchan attacked their Christian neighbours. It is on record that Southern Kaduna is one of the senatorial districts with the highest number of retired generals of the Nigerian Army. How many of them are Muslim? Between the Christians and Muslims, who are well trained on using weapons? In Kafanchan town, we don’t have a single military officer serving or retired. We are always the victims,” he said.

“It is on record that all the over 300 wounded Muslims, now hospitalised in various towns were treated with bullet wounds, bullets were removed from their bodies in these hospitals. I am asking Kure to tell me who shot them? About a year ago, caches of bombs were found hidden by a river side in Zonkwa. Anti-bomb squads came from Kaduna to detonate them. Who hid those bombs and for what? Who have military expertise in the area? But nobody was arrested or reprimanded for those possessing such bombs. With the genocide in Zonkwa, it is now clear to us why those bombs were brought to Zonkwa,” he said.

Also, Maisukuni pointed out that the Christian leaders like Kure are responsible for the crisis. “Bishop Danlami Bagobiri resides in Matsirga, an outskirt of Kafanchan which is a predominantly Fulani settlement. As I am talking to you now, there is no single Muslim there; they were all wiped out and those who were lucky to survive had fled. There is no single house belonging to a Muslim that was not razed down; there is no single Islamiyya school or mosque in that community. This thing happened in a bishop’s backyard,” he said.

“Not only that, the same Bishop Bagobiri declared in a press conference that the Hausa-Fulani had amassed weapons of mass destruction. Why was it that the Muslims in Matsirga couldn’t defend themselves from their attackers who are known to the bishop? The Muslims, who are the bishop’s neighbours were murdered in cold blood before his very eyes. We rely solely on government to protect us. Go to the refugee camps, who do you see there, are they Muslims or Christians?


Tension in public schools

Despite the presence of soldiers and the relative peace in Kafanchan and environs, Sunday Trust findings revealed that there is still fear of persecution particularly among the minority Muslim communities in public institutions. Malam Abubakar Jama’a (not real names), a teacher at the Kaduna State College of Education, Gidan Waya, explained that, “the situation has taken an ugly trend with fears of persecution of the Hausa-Fulani communities in public institutions.”

The teacher, whose parent were murdered in Matsirga, an outskirts of Kafanchan and also had his house burnt in Hayin Gada, Kafanchan, declared that “even here on campus (COE, Gidan Waya), some of our colleagues who are Christians don’t even return our greetings. I was particularly taken aback when a colleague expressed her shock when I returned to the school after the crisis saying ‘ah, you are alive!”

The situation is the same in the Federal Technical College, Kafanchan, when some Muslim students were told by the school authorities after the crisis that their lives and safety couldn’t be guaranteed. “In fact, we thought that the children were joking but we were dumbfounded when my neighbour whose children were studying in Fadan Kagoma went to the school after the report. The principal told him that he couldn’t guarantee the safety of his children in the school,” Jama’a said.

He added that as a result of this development, their children who are schooling in Kwoi, Fadan Kagoma and even in Kafanchan are still staying at home more than one month after the crisis. “Apart from losing the lives of our dear ones and property, our children can’t even go to school again. The situation is very terrible and regrettable,” he said.

He explained that if not for the quick intervention of the college’s provost, Mr Ishaya Dare Akau, who quickly sought and deployed law enforcement agents to the college, the pogrom would have affected the school. “The provost sensed the situation and quickly brought soldiers to the school. The situation didn’t degenerate into violence in the campus,” the teacher said.

The academic explained that government at all levels need to be proactive in the areas of bringing the culprits to book, rehabilitation of the victims as well as reconciliation of the warring communities. A decisive action, he said, needs to be taken to forestall the reoccurrence of the pogrom in the near future.


Agonies of displaced persons

Controversy trailing the rent given to displaced persons by the Kaduna State Governor, Mr Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, took a new dimension few days ago as many beneficiaries of it returned to camp. They lamented their inability to secure accommodation with the amount given to them even at the remotest areas of the state.

The state government had through its resettlement committee chaired by the former commissioner of information, Alhaji Sa’idu Adamu, gave between 15,000 to 25,000 naira to displaced persons as house rent.

A cross section of the displaced persons interviewed by Sunday Trust at the Kaduna Hajj described the amount as meagre and urged the state government to as a matter of urgency, assist them to rebuild their burnt houses. They said they are eager to return to their respective houses in order to continue with their lives again.

Sunday Trust observed that many of the displaced persons who received the rent allowance given by the state government are still in the camp. Ward Head of Maraban Rido, Malam Usman Bawa, said the money given to them by the state government was not enough to secure a room and parlour apartment.

“I was given 15,000 naira by the state government two weeks ago to secure accommodation for my two wives, nine children and my in-law. But I could not secure a room in Rigasa, Maraban Jos, and even in Dan Bushiya because the money is too small. I need four rooms for my family. Though, we are not starving here in the camp but we want to leave,” he said.

He said the only good the state government can do to them is to rebuild their houses, provide security and encourage peaceful co-existence among all the people in the state.

On his part, Sarkin Matsirga, Alhaji Sale Waziri, said they decided to reject the rent allowance given to them by the state government because the money was too small. “We are not fighting the state government but we only want them to increase the amount so that we can be able to secure a house. The government should also give us money to buy few household items like mats and if possible little capital. This is what we want,” he said.

Leader of the Fulani in the camp, Suleiman Abubakar urged the government to fast track the rebuilding of their burnt houses and that they should provide security to those who are willingly to return their houses.

The chairman of the state resettlement committee, Alhaji Sa’idu Adamu, said his committee does not have the mandate to compensate victims of the election riot but that theirs was to provide relief and succour to the displaced persons resident in camps.

The chairman in a statement, said the rent allowance given to the displaced persons was to enable them secure accommodation so that they can start life afresh outside the camps.

“Our committee is only saddled with the responsibilities of ensuring relief and providing succour to the affected persons within the limited available resources,’’ he said. It was gathered that about 20 births have been recorded in the Kaduna Hajj camp which housed the larger number of the displaced persons in Kaduna State.

http://www.sunday.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7060:tension-distrust-in-kafanchan-over-activities-of-soldiers&catid=41:latest-news&Itemid=26

The violence was caused by Hausa-Fulani muslim fanatics. They didn't expect their non-muslim counterparts to be equally vicious in reply? Mtchew

I don't blame them at all for their meanness. To me its self defense in the face of constant attacks.

Some of your responses are SICK!
When you reach your graves, the truth will be clear to you.
You know that the Southern Kaduna non muslims were the aggressors, yet you want to put a spin on it!

Every soul shall taste death and then you will give account of that which you did while you were on earth!

Thou shall not kill! Some of you are worse than the burukutu drinking murderers!

Ayinba, please shut ur dirty trap. What goes around comes around so I don't have to feel a thing for a ppl known for killing and subjugating others. If non-muslims of Southern Kaduna were to fold arms and do nothing they would fall victim so its matter of survival. When those groups learn to deal with their differences without pulling knives and guns then there will be peace but it will be left for the Hausa-Fulani-muslims to throw up the white flag since 90% of the time they are usually the 1st to attack others.

Very unimpressed by your language. You seem to be rejoicing that people got killed simply because they are Muslims. This is what is sickening. No matter what foul language you use, it does not change the fact.

You will probably claim to be a Christian? I will condemn the killing of innocent people no matter who they are or who the perpetrators are!

Learn the civil manners of discourse. Again each of us will stand before our Creator and give account of what we did or did not do. You believing it or not will never change that fact!

garba maisukuni should thanks his Allah he is alive.let him know that we will hunt him like rat till we caught him.I believe that most of u will called me diffrent names yes.iam a xtian 4rm that kafachan. 9pm these people attack us we that stays at bauchi street.and kill my friends.the truth here,six of my friend were kill by garba childrend.pls go down to kaf and found out.what do u expect us to do?fold our arms.God in heaven will bear us wickness we have never started crisis and our religioun didnt allow but we have to defend.he mentioned bomb at Zokwa.this muslim gathered at around 10pm in the market square ready 4 action.there plant the bomb bt no space 4 action are boko haram miltry personel that the are bombing every where that he is says the retire military are xtian.it is long story.bt 4 garba we are coming 4 him come rain come sunshine

This whole write-up is sheer propaganda and full of lies. It aims to paint the southern kaduna people as trouble makers, but it will be difficult for any reasonable nigerian to believe it.
The entire crisis was started by CPC members, Southern kaduna people are majorly PDP. They are not known for violence.On the other hand the hausa community has been violent from history. some of their extremists are already bombing Abuja. so how can anyone believe this biased write-up, more so that it is coming from Daily Trust- their own media.

I expect the same daily trust to give us a vivid picture of the carnage that took place in Bauchi, Gombe, Zaria and Kano. Let them describe how innocent youth corpers were killed during the post election violence. Let them explain how terrible weapons find their way into northern Nigeria which is now a major reason for the prevalent going off of bombs around northern Nigeria. Let them also detail the report of carnage against pastors and christians in Borno by the boko haram sect.

Great Dailytrust(or weekendtrust) propagating islamic and northern agender! The question is 'who started it?' and 'for what reason was it started?'. The holy book says 'if u ar slappd n d right cheek, turn the left'. But I say if somebdy point AK47 at u and u have access to any gun whatsoever, grab the gun and shoot first. If u allow him to shoot first, there will be no cheek fo u to turn!

is a general belef that the crisis was started by the hausas in kaduna, but it is also general believe that the Christian in southern kaaduna kiled a lot of muslem.

Kaduna State should be split in two, with the Hausa Muslim population transferred north and Christian non-Hausas transferred south.

For Hausa Christians and Muslim non-Hausas, I guess they'll have to pick which of the two states they feel more comfortable being in.

jmaine:

A short sighted approach to a complex situation . .the sooner they learn to cohabit peacefully and respect each other will to live, the better for all . . .

It will never happen. Will happen as soon as the Israelis and Palestinians learn to cohabitate peacefully. Or the bear and the wolf.

Sometimes the best thing to do is to break up

The whole writeup is the usual dailytrust propaganda, always trying to portry the muslims as the victims, while they are the perperators of mindless killings, rape and arson in the name of religion. Islam is the religion of the blood thirsty, and dailytrust newspaper the mouth piece of islam

@anyimba1
You are very slimy son of a B.itch. When has a christain in the north ever instigated violence, right from when this country was found all form of religious violence has bin caused started by some idiot islamic bigots and u, u come hear to transfer blame to soundern kaduna non muslim. U muslims are the agresors. In 1992 when u foolish fanatical muslims want to dominate the pple of zango- kataf, u know wat happenne to you pple. The christain dealt with them, till today, the muslim community in kaduna remember that event. I am from kaduna, I have lived in jos , I have bin to kano. All relious crisis have bin initiated by u so called muslims. So don't come here and talk rubbish, it is you dat will perish, u talk of bukutu drinking pple.go to sabon gari in kano and see how you muslims drink beer, I have an imam friend that drinks, so stop deceiving your self. Ur muslim brother slaughered igbo Jan 8th, 2011 in jos Unprovoked they stated killing. Useles religion

I have watched this thread from the sideline buh just wanna chip in now especially on how some people without knowledge of events in kaduna/southern kaduna started.
Without any form of doubt, the post election violence started in kaduna town before spreading to other part of the town.
The point of contention is simple. What happened in southern kaduna was a reprisal attact and totally a fatal spill over when viewed from its occurance viz a viz other parts.
As a muslim, residing in the heart of kaduna town, i saw youths protesting and burning tyre, and houses of PDP stalwarts before taking it religious undertone with burning of churches. r they

Most of my friends are from the southern part and i had been opportuned to travel round the entire region especially from jere to kwoi towards keffi in nassarawa state and from akwanga to gwantu into kaf. And kachia. And i tell you all, this is not funny. Irrespective of religious afiliation, the left over of the carnage is just too unbearable. What baffles me most is, HOW CAN A MINUTE POPULATION IN SOUTHERN KADUNA WANNA DECLARE WAR ON THE MAJORITY? it does not tally.

this is nothing but a propaganda to portray those bloody and barbaric muslims as the victims. we all know that the agressors are the muslims. check your records and your history. Zap.in bloody religion.

Going to zaria, and the much made noise as it been the hallmark of terror? I was so surprise to see things were almost normal. I had stayed in samaru for 6year so i know what i am saying.
The whole point is, the violence is the south was premeditated, planned and well excuted. Thus, the presence of high security in the region and also, to possibly prevent the passage of retaliatory agents movements into the region.

What baffles me most is how people especially on this thread arrogantly equate religion with human sheer wickedness. Islam is peaceful and i am proud to be a muslim

The sooner Muslims realise violence is not their exclusive preserve the better it would be for everyone

So this poster want to start another round of the riot or what? He is a big fool to bring this issue now. That is my verdict.

@md4real,

I have the following questions for you?

1. where did the riots start, and who started it?

2. can you reconcile burning PDP stalwarts homes and burning churches?

3. kafanchan market mostly occupied by igbo traders was burnt to ashes, who did it?

4. in the history of religious violence in kaduna state, give me an instance where the Christians started the fight.

5. considering the fact that 99% of cpc's supporters are hausa Fulani, will you justify the post election violence by cpc's supporters?

Na wao for u o poster, next time, abeg post this stuff like 5 times, too long like a train

It takes a fool to know one. Were you forced to read or comment on this post? You dont know me so dont ever insult me for any reason. You should be civil and matured i guess,so dont go posting insults on public forums. Who even cares about your verdict,next time keep your verdict to yourself.

Excllncy:

So this poster want to start another round of the riot or what? He is a big fool to bring this issue now. That is my verdict.

ALADE4J2:

Point of correction. The Emir of Ilorin is not an Hausa man. He is Fulani just as all the other Emirs and the Sultan are. If I am not irring, no Hausa man is an Emir in Nigeria. Although Nigerians tend to lump them together, there differences between Hausa and Fulani people.