The Kaduna State Government says it will set up a judicial commission of inquiry to probe the recurring killings in Kajuru and Kachia local government areas of the state.
Governor Nasir el-Rufai made this known on Saturday when he visited Maro, Karamai and Sakiya communities in the area where 40 persons were killed on Tuesday in alleged reprisals.
According to the governor, the commission, to be chaired by a senior high court judge, would investigate the root causes of the crisis.
He said the committee would comprise security experts who would also look into the killings and investigate those behind them.
El-Rufai explained, “The committee will further look at what could be done to address the issues, how many people were arrested and under investigation, their states, and why none has been convicted by the courts.
“I am here to sympathise and commiserate with you and to pray for the repose of the souls of the departed.”
News Agency of Nigeria reports that the governor also visited the mass grave where 15 persons were buried in the area after the Tuesday attacks.
He said, “It is very sad that people that had lived together side by side for hundreds of years have suddenly started killing one another.
“The circle of violence, particularly in Kajuru and Kachia, must stop.
“It is not in our culture, our religion to permit anybody to kill. All those who engage in these are not godly people but godless people, they are neither Muslims nor Christians.”
The governor, therefore, urged the residents to join hands and condemn the killings while calling on religious leaders to always preach peace.
He added, “We must remember that this circle of violence will never end as long as we believe in revenge and reprisals.”
He appealed to the residents to be law-abiding, reminding them that irrespective of their ethnic and religious differences, they were all creations of God and would account for the evil they committed.
In his remarks, the Chief of Karamai, Mr Maika Musa, expressed worry over the attacks and called on government to bring the perpetrators to book.
Meanwhile, the North-West Zonal Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency, Mr Ishaya Chonoko, has explained that the essence of the relief materials donated to victims of the recent communal clashes was to give them temporary succour.
Chonoko told our correspondent that the gesture was part of the assessment of the agency as directed by its national headquarters, pending when comprehensive profiling of the beneficiaries would be done.
He said, “The assistance that NEMA provided to the victims of the communal clashes in Kajuru Local Government a pre-assessment intervention aimed at assisting the displaced people with foods and other basic needs in the IDP camps pending when normalcy would be restored in their villages.
“After the exercise, we would conduct an in-depth assessment of what the people would require to continue their normal lives.”
He commended the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, for approving setting up camps for the displaced victims through the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency, pending the restoration of peace in their communities.
Chonoko said clothes, food items, cooking utensils, mosquito nets, mattresses, and prayer mats were received on behalf of the beneficiaries by the Chairman, committee on IDPs, Sabo Abubakar.
punchng.com
