Southern Kaduna Killings: CAN Lists 8 Conditions For Peace

The national leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), on Monday, visited Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, over the killings in Southern Kaduna.

The CAN leadership’s visit to Governor El-Rufai was led by its president, Rev. Samson Ayokunle.

The religious body, during its visit, frowned at the government’s failure to curb incessant killings in the Christian-dominated region of the state.

Ayokunle had said that CAN’s visit was not meant to, “place accusation against anyone concerning the crisis nor is it to say that the government of the day has not done anything to stop the continuous killings. It is rather to say that the present best of the government and the security agents are not good enough. It would be enough and praiseworthy when the killings stop.”

While noting its readiness to partner with the state government to address the problem, CAN made eight requests from Governor El-Rufai as part of initial steps to addressing the problem. The requests were:

1. A stop to accusations and counter-accusations between the government and other stakeholders over the killings in Southern Kaduna but rather a round table solution. Every provocative statement over the matter should be avoided. Everybody is looking at the governor as a father of the state and this is the understanding with which he should handle every accusing finger pointed at him. Your office is like that of the dung where all kinds of rubbish are dumped. When you were not in charge of the governance of the state, nobody was pointing accusing finger at you.
2. No bandit, gunman or cattle rustler should be allowed to strike and disappear into the thin air any longer without being pursued to his or her base for apprehension and prosecution.
3. The guns in the hands of criminals should be recovered. Bushes should be combed through surveillance to do this.
4. Technology should be deployed extensively by the security agents to apprehend the criminals in their hideouts, including the mercenaries that may be coming from outside the state.
5. All sources of ammunition the bandits and killers are using should be investigated and blocked
6. Community healing, forgiveness and reconciliatory meetings should be held, bringing different ethnic groups in communities together to chart the way forward for peace.
7. Your government should further strengthen the State Emergency Management Agency and the Kaduna State Peace Commission for the development and rebuilding of Southern Kaduna and other crises ridden areas. A commission should be set up to cater for many orphans, widows and widowers whose future had been put in jeopardy as a result of the killings of their breadwinners.
8. It is apparent that killings are noticed on both sides. Nonetheless, an increase in security forces be deployed to the troubled spots until lasting peace is restored. In conclusion, we pray that all the above would be looked into as our way of contributing to peace building in Southern Kaduna, and of course, the entire state. You can count on us to always pray for you to nip this ugly situation of continuous bloodletting in the bud in Kaduna State.