New Report Shows Over 100 Communities Deserted in North Central State
- Bandits operating in various local government areas of Kaduna state have sacked over 100 communities
- The attacks by the bandits are said to have also led to the displacement of residents of these communities
- According to reports, villagers who are mostly farmers have been made to leave their homes to find refuge in nearby communities
A new report by Daily Trust shows that residents of over 100 communities in Kaduna state have been displaced following different bandits' attacks in the state.
The report said that the attacks were majorly due to the state's multi-layered ethnoreligious and farmer/herder conflicts that have lasted for decades.
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In the research which sampled about 143 villages in seven different local government areas of the state, it was gathered that Zangon Kataf, Kauru, Birnin Gwari, Chikun, Giwa, Igabi and Kajuru as of December 2020.
A detail of the incident shows that while 16 communities were sacked by bandits in Chikun LGA, five others including Nasarawan Sabon Sara, Hayin Kobo, Rafin Kaji and Marke had been sacked in Giwa LGA.
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According to the report, 26 villages in Kajuru LGA have been deserted while 60 other communities were sacked in Birnin Gwari.
In addition, communities like Chikwale, Idum and Muruchi in Kachia LGA are now ghost towns.
The Birnin Gwari Emirate Progressives Union (BEPU) while confirming the data, said that about 60 villages were sacked by bandits in 2021.
BEPU chairman, Salisu Haruna, said not one human being lives in these communities in Birnin Gwari.
Haruna who is a legal practitioner said:
"No human being lives there. The people from those villages, who are largely farmers, have been forcefully sent on exile by bandits.”
Also, records released by the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) as of March 1, 2022, about 145 communities in six different local government areas in the state had also been deserted.
Jonathan Asake, the president of SOKAPU, said that 28 communities in Kajuru had been sacked while 33 others in Kachia had their residents displaced.
He added that efforts are currently being made by displaced persons from these communities to return to their homes.
But records provided by the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) show that only 52 communities were sacked by bandits in six local government areas from 2021 till date.
The executive secretary of the state's agency, Muhammed Mu'azu said that 52 communities reflected communities where the agency conducted assessments.
Mu'azu said that there were other areas the agency could not assess due to insecurity.
Tension hits Kaduna as gunmen launch heavy attacks in 3 different communities
People of the Chikun local government area of Kaduna state had been thrown into fear following an attack by some gunmen in the locality.
The gunmen were said to have attacked three different communities in the local government area in the early hours of Tuesday, March 8.
Two people were killed in the attack while four others including a Catholic priest were abducted during the incident.
Buhari's govt uncovers 96 Boko Haram, ISWAP sponsors
In another development, the minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed, on Thursday, February 3, said the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) had uncovered 96 financiers of Boko Haram and ISWAP.
Mohammed at a briefing on the anti-corruption fight of President Muhammadu Buhari also revealed that the NFIU has exposed 424 associates/supporters of the financiers, 123 firms, and 33 bureaux de change linked with the insurgency.
The minister disclosed that the agency had identified 26 suspected bandits/kidnappers and seven accomplices, adding that 45 of the suspects will soon be prosecuted.
Source: Legit.ng
