El-Rufai denies paying herdsmen over Kaduna killings

Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai yesterday denied paying herdsmen over the killings in southern Kaduna as being peddled in some quarters.

He said the idea came from late Governor Patrick Yakowa’s initiative, which involved persuading aggrieved Fulani to forgive the losses they suffered in the 2011 postelection violence and that they responded by asking for compensation for the lost cattle.

Speaking at a news conference yesterday, Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, said el-Rufai never paid herdsmen money to either appease them or armed them as widely reported in the media.

This was even as the National Assembly members from southern Kaduna called on both the Kaduna State government and the Federal Government to implement all the resolutions of the National Assembly regarding the crisis and insecurity in their area.

In a statement issued yesterday, the federal legislators advised ‘that leaders at all levels and in all spectrums should stop making inciting statements on the issue as such is capable of worsening the already volatile situation.’

Aruwan, who lamented the distortion of what the governor said in an interview with some journalists last week, said that ‘government is combining security action with dialogue and peace-building efforts in southern Kaduna.’

According to the governor’s spokesman, “el-Rufai has continued what was admirable in the peace efforts of late Governor Patrick Yakowa, and would do whatever is legitimate to secure lasting peace in the area.”

Aruwan added that the late Yakowa tried to foster reconciliation with the affected Fulani communities to stem the spiral of vengeance and reprisals.

“Yakowa’s efforts were not sustained after his death and violence persisted. When it became our responsibility to provide security for the state, we re-established these contacts so that those who felt they lost out in the 2011 election violence could be appeased,” he explained.

He said: “The quest for peace and the imperative of stemming human suffering requires leaders to explore conventional and unusual means to build peace.”