Heavily-armed Fulani herders attacked the Godogodo Chiefdom in Sanga
Local Government Area (LGA), southern Kaduna State, from Saturday 15 October
until the afternoon of Sunday 16 October, killing over 40 people and destroying
almost every home.
According
to reports obtained by Christian Solidarity Worldwide Nigeria (CSW-N), the
herders entered the area at around 6pm, shooting wildly. Youth and adult men ran
into the bush while women and children hid inside their homes. However, the
herders set fire to buildings, burning at least ten women and two children
beyond recognition. According to a local source, they also set fire to two
mosques in the area “so that they would say it is the Christians there that
started [the attack].”
The
herders moved on to attack Nindu village, also in Godogodo Chiefdom, at around
10 am, killing two youth and seriously injuring three
others.
Herder
attacks on non-Muslim communities in the central Nigerian states of Kaduna,
Plateau, Bauchi, Taraba and Benue have spiralled since May 2015. CSW Nigeria
estimates over 85 people have died in herder attacks on Sanga and Kaura LGAs in
southern Kaduna State since May 2016 alone.
In
a press release, the Southern Kaduna People’s Union (SOKAPU) said it was “a
national shame and an indictment of the state government's commitment to
security issues in Southern Kaduna that about seven villages in Godogodo
Chiefdom are now completely deserted after being ransacked, burnt and the people
killed.” The group also lamented the plight of “villages like Ninte, Akwa,
Ungwan Anjo, and Antang, where the people had been sacked from their villages
[and] the armed herdsmen have permanently taken over the villages and [are]
boldly grazing their herds on the farms of the
villagers.”
CSW's Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said, “These
continued attacks on Sanga and Kaura LGAs are unacceptable. The State government
must make addressing this violence a priority as it is clear that herder attacks
have been able to reach such disturbing proportions precisely because the issue
has not been adequately addressed. In order to combat growing lawlessness and
impunity that will ultimately undermine the wellbeing of the entire state,
sufficient security must be drafted to targeted areas to ensure the protection
of vulnerable communities as a matter of urgency, along with the stringent
enforcement of a curfew. The authorities must also become proactive in
apprehending, disarming and prosecuting perpetrators, and ensuring the return of
land to communities that have been forcibly
displaced.”
