Press Release 

Dear Nigerians, greetings and compliments of the season to all of us.
It is no longer news that while some are celebrating, others are losing life and property somewhere in the north and the MiddleBelt areas of Nigeria, and needlessly too.

The Core MiddleBelt Value hereby expresses it’s profound and deep sadness over the incessant and brutal killings of Middlebelters in Southern Kaduna and other parts of the North and she is also decrying the heightened rate of violence in other parts of the country as well. For the purpose of clarity, below is a brief chronicle of the killings.

The CMBV notes that in less than 10 days, between July 14th to 21st in the year 2020, about 64 Southern Kaduna indigenes were reportedly and brutally massacred while dozens  critically injured, and  survivors in various hospitals, in addition to  thousands that have been rendered homeless.

These attacks were perpetuated by fulani herdsmen who have, with impunity, launched cowardly and dastardly attacks on indigenes of Southern Kaduna with the aim of seizing arable lands and subjugating the natives.

Before the attacks on Gonar Rogo, Kukum Daji and Goran Gan, there were also previous attacks on other Southern Kaduna settlements with heavy losses in human and material angles without any form of intervention from the government.

The leadership of CMBV also notes that both the Federal, State and local Governments have been  unable or unwilling to rein in the attackers or their sponsors. Rather those in control of the institutions of the state have chosen to act as spokespersons for  the killers claiming that the killer herdsmen attacks were reprisals or revenge killings for previous attacks on the Fulani communities in Southern Kaduna.

We also noted that before or after every attacks by the Fulani Herdsmen, heavily armed security personnel are always  despatched and/or curfew imposed which prevents the youths of those communities from protecting their settlements from further attacks.

Again after the attacks, the youths are prevented from going after the marauders and if they dare, they are prevented the security personnel allegedly sent to protect them.

This begs the questions, where were the Army, the Police, the DSS when these attacks were taking  place initially ?

How come the killer Herdsmen were able to beat the numerous security checkpoints in Southern Kaduna and move freely to attack?

The CMBV also notes that following the protests in Katsina, the Chief of Army Staff Lt General Tukur Buratai relocated to Katsina to fight banditry and Kidnappings in that state. 

So, why is that of Southern Kaduna different?

Rather than offer protection, the Presidency is giving reasons as to why the Fulanis are attacking .

The failure of the governments to address the violence in Southern Kaduna and other parts of Middle Belt  has contributed to an alarming rise in deadly genocidal tendencies  involving armed men of Fulani extraction.

 This is impacting negatively on Hausa Muslim communities in the Middle Belt .

The long run result is that the Hausa-Fulani communities would be seen as a common enemy not only in the Middle Belt but in the country as a whole.

In order to avoid a situation which would lead to further loss of lives of Middle Belters and the stigmatization of innocent Hausa Fulanis living peacefully in the Middle Belt and Nigeria, we ask the Governments (Federal, State and Local Government) to do the needful by quickly stepping into the Southern Kaduna issue and curb the deadly killings .

To this end, we the Core Middle Belt Value recommend the following actions with immediate effect to restore the confidence of the Southern Kaduna people that the government is not an accomplice but the defender of the life and property of her citizen:

• The removal of Police Commissioner in Kaduna State,
• The redeployment of the General Officer Commanding 1Mechanized Division Kaduna
• The removal of Director of DSS in Kaduna 
• The reinstatement of traditional Chiefdoms which were downgraded by Governor El-Rufai when he became the governor of Kaduna State.
• The removal of the four Emirates, namely Kauru, Kajuru, Kagarko and Lere which were established by El-Rufai and a returned the former  status quo 
• The implementation of the 2014 National Conference reports with particular reference to the Southern Kaduna
• The CMBV also demands that Governor El-Rufai arrest the Killer herdsmen perpetuating the attacks on Southern Kaduna since he claimed that he met them and paid them to stop killing before now.

The Core Middle Belt Value would not urge an armed struggle against any particular ethnic group or religion but it can report those instigating violence, genocidal tendencies against the Middle Belt to the international Criminal Court ,ICC for prosecution.

These group of people CMBV intends to take to the ICC, should the violence continues includes:

1- The President of Nigeria at the time of these killings

2-The head of the Fulani militias and their spokesmen

3- The Governors who refused to take necessary steps in order  to apprehend the killers herdsmen  and those  had also allowed the situation to degenerate

4- The heads of the security agencies which seems unwilling to rein in these attacks.

The CMBV wishes to remind the Nigerian authority  that Charles Taylor was arrested for crimes he allowed his militias to commit against Liberians and he is still serving jail time.

Laurent Gbago, former Ivorien strongman is still at the mercies of the ICC while Omar El-Bashir is still a wanted man over his handling of the Dafur crisis.

We therefore urge the Nigerian authority to be very wary of taking sides in conflicts as it could have far reaching consequences.Furthermore, those in power,would be held responsible for their actions and inactions 

Finally, Government should be a vehicle of peace helping to bring peaceful coexistence between all Nigerians

Signed

Mike Odeh Akatu 

National Publicity Officer 

Dauda Ayuba Azzaman 

Kaduna Chair, Member BOT.

Alex Agbo,

 Kogi Chair 

Christie Oyine 

National Leader

Comr. Paul Cletus

Plateau State Chair

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Southern Kaduna Killings: The Position of the Core MiddleBelt Value.