×

Former Commissioner Decries Poor Reportage On Kaduna Killings

A former commissioner in Kaduna State, Isuwa Dogo, on Wednesday decried the poor reportage of ethno-religious killings in the State, stating that there had been … Continue reading Former Commissioner Decries Poor Reportage On Kaduna Killings


Isuwa DogoA former commissioner in Kaduna State, Isuwa Dogo, on Wednesday decried the poor reportage of ethno-religious killings in the State, stating that there had been more of such killings in Kaduna than in any other state of the federation since Nigeria’s amalgamation in 1914.

“The kind of publicity we get with respect to what happens in Plateau or Benue or even in the Boko Haram area (north eastern states) is not given to what happens in Southern Kaduna”, he said, insisting that those who should be concerned about the situation had assumed that “it is a normal thing for killings to continue to happen in Southern Kaduna so the media houses give very little prominence to what is happening.”

Appearing on Sunrise Daily, the political analyst, who disclosed that there were about 200 ethnic groups in Kaduna, saidKaduna is a very peculiar state. Many people do not know or have very little understanding of what has been going on in Kaduna.”

According to him about 200 ethno-religious crisis had taken place in Kaduna between 1972 and 2014, leading to a death toll that beats any other State’s record.

He further disclosed that the figures of casualties seen in the media after such attacks were not accurate, disclosing that during the last attack, two weeks ago, “four villages were razed to the ground completely. Not a single hut was left standing”. “Women and children were massacred in cold blood. People were roasted in their houses”, he said.

Although Mr Dogo did not rule out the State government’s efforts in containing the situation, he stressed that “if something was being done, maybe we would not have this monumental and a continuous systematic annihilation of our people.”

Extoling the virtues of the people of Southern Kaduna, Dogo said the reason for the attacks was unknown as they were peace-loving religious people who “live in harmony with every single tribe in Nigeria,” adding that there were no killings in Southern Kaduna during the civil war.

He noted that the Fulani herdsmen, who had been accused of the acts, were being used to cover up by unknown people in southern Kaduna, Plateau and Benue States. He also stressed that those behind the attacks were trained terrorists who were brought in and armed to kill.

Mr Dogo appealed to media organisations to visit the affected villages in southern Kaduna “and see the monumental destruction. What we describe as ethnic cleansing and complete annihilation of the ethnic nationalities in southern Kaduna.”

He praised the Chief of Army Staff, Kenneth Minimah, who agreed to visit the community following a text message he (Dogo), sent requesting that the Army Chief should come and inspect the situation.

He further requested that an army Brigade be stationed in the area as well as an Air Force base.