By our reporter
Security agencies in Kaduna state on Sunday confirmed mass killings in villages in Kajuru Local Government Area of the state.
This is coming two days after Governor Nasir el-Rufai, announced that at least 66 people were killed in Maro Gida and Iri axis of Kajuru Local Government.
While some people said the state government is not the proper body to announce such an incident, others questioned the government on why it delayed the announcement till Friday evening when the killings started late the previous Sunday.
Meanwhile, the police in state did not state a casualty figure but said at least six people have been arrested in connection with the violence.
Also, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has criticised the state government over the timing of its announcement of the killings.
In a statement on Sunday, the state chapter of the association described the announcement as intentional and raising a false alarm.
“The press statement by the spokesman to the Kaduna state governor, Samuel Aruwan, suggests that the killings in Kajuru Local Government were carried out on February 15. This is false in its entirety,” CAN said.
Similarly, the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) called on the inspector-general of police and the director of the Department of State Services (DSS) to carry out an independent investigation into the killings.
In a statement signed by its National Public Relations Officer, Yakubu Kuzamani, the group said it was startled that it was the governor himself and not the police that announced the alleged killings in Kajuru.
On his part, the Senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, said the el-Rufai government exaggerated the figures as Kajuru Local Government falls under his senatorial district.
“What I found out about the killings is that it happened between Sunday and Monday. The figures for the deaths are within the range of 10 to 15.
The state government exaggerated the figures and also timed the announcement of it in view of the fact that that place is remote and beyond the reach of many journalists,” the lawmaker, a critic of Governor el-Rufai said.
He insinuated that the government’s delay of the announcement was politically motivated.
“By his (el-Rufai) utterances, body language and behaviour, this man does not prove to be someone interested in free and credible elections.
And for a man who bragged about body bags, when he talks about corpses, you should be able to understand his kind of obsession,” Sen. Asni added.
