*We Were Star Witnesses To Events In Southern Kaduna Under El-Rufai’s Administration, It Says
*’The Appropriate Response Is Not Intimidation, Insults Or Political Blackmail; Appropriate Response Is To Investigate The Issues, Establish The Truth’
By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
Middle Belt Forum (MBF) has thrown its weight behind the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Gwabin Musa (rtd), over his remarks on insecurity in Kaduna State, accusing former Governor Nasir El-Rufai of complicity in mass killings.
The body also called for an International Criminal Court (ICC) trial for the now-detained ex-governor.
Addressing journalists at a world press conference in Kaduna on Tuesday, MBF national spokesman, Luka Binniyat, said the Forum was speaking “as star witnesses” to events in Southern Kaduna and other parts of the state during El-Rufai’s administration from 2015 to 2023.
The press conference followed Gen. Musa’s appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, on 3 September where he said, among others: “We can never be happy with somebody who has deliberately planned for the killing of our people,” while alleging that El-Rufai had publicly admitted to paying bandits.
In the wake of the TV interview, El-Rufai has threatened to sue the Minister for defamation –a development which sparked mixed reactions from several personalities, groups and many others on social media.
MBF rejected claims that violence in Kaduna State only escalated under El-Rufai because of inherited crises, arguing that what changed was “deliberate targeting of peaceful vulnerable rural communities for annihilation.”
“Communities in Southern Kaduna and other parts of Kaduna State were repeatedly attacked. Villages were burnt, people were killed and thousands were displaced,” MBF said.
The Forum cited several cases to back its position, including Goska, 2016, adding “after an attack on the Kaninkon community in Jema’a LGA, the District Head, Moses Barde, was arrested instead of the attackers.”
Others cases cited are “Kurama Chief, 2016: The traditional ruler, Dr. Ishaku Sabo Damina, was arrested and dethroned after handing over a suspected attacker to the military.”
He later died in 2021, which MBF linked to trauma from detention.
MBF also cited the case of “Atyap Leaders, March 2021”, alleging that “15 leaders, including an 82-year-old man, were arrested and accused of killing 706 cows.
“At least three died less than a month after release,” the body revealed.
Kajuru 2019 And Alleged Inflammatory Statements
MBF singled out the Kajuru violence of February-March 2019, saying El-Rufai’s announcements of 66, then 130, then 133 alleged Fulani deaths “without a shred of evidence” triggered reprisals on local communities.
The Forum noted that the then Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Abdulrahman Ahmad, faulted the governor’s figures, and that Adara leaders including Awemi Dio Maisamari were detained for over 100 days.
“In 2024, a Federal High Court awarded N900 million damages to Maisamari and 8 others for unlawful detention”, MBF said, referencing the length gone to secure some justice and right the perceived wrongs of the El-Rufai administration.
According to the forum’s spokesman, despite the arrests, attacks continued in Karamai, Ungwan Barde, Inkirimi and Dogonnoma, with dozens killed and houses destroyed within weeks.
The Forum also referenced the December 2015 Zaria Shiite clash, saying El-Rufai “defended the massacre of over 1000 Shiites” and ordered the arrest of their leaders.
MBF further accused the administration of using 24-hour curfews as “weapons” that left communities defenseless. It cited Goska in December 2016, Samaru Kataf in 2017, and multiple Atyap villages in Zangon Kataf in 2020 where at least 22 people were killed, and later more, “despite the subsisting curfew.”
“No single Fulani was brought to book,” MBF said, adding that El-Rufai “never visited or condemned the killings and did nothing for the displaced persons.”
On mass sackings and demolitions, the Forum also reminded the world that, beyond insecurity, there was the matter of the mass dismissal of about 22,000 teachers and 35,000 workers, and “cruel demolition exercises” across Kaduna State.
It cited the 2016 death of Mary Audu in Gbagyi Villa after receiving a demolition notice, and the May 2023 Gbagyi Villa protest where residents alleged four youths were killed and 25 injured after state government operatives fired shots.
“Development cannot be measured only by buildings demolished and roads constructed. It must also be measured by the lives protected and the people whose dignity is preserved,” Binniyat said.
The Forum then expressed solidarity with Gen. Musa over his remarks on what it alleged was El-Rufai’s “seeming complicity”, calling for the former governor to be charged with crimes against humanity and handed over to ICC for prosecution.
Making key demands, MBF requested an independent investigation into allegations of payments to bandits; review of unresolved mass killings in Southern Kaduna, including the 2018 kidnapping and murder of the paramount ruler, Agwom Adara, Dr. Raphael Maiwada Galadima; and investigation of deaths and injuries from controversial demolitions under the El-Rufai administration.
“The appropriate response is not intimidation, insults or political blackmail. The appropriate response is to investigate the issues and establish the truth,” MBF said.
“The people who lost their parents, children, homes, livelihoods, jobs and communities deserve nothing less,” the body added.
*PHOTO CAPTION: MBF National Spokesman, Mr Luka Binniyat (3rd left), and Other Members During The Media Briefing in Kaduna …Tuesday.
