Group reports El-Rufai to President Trump over ethno-religious

Abdullahi HammedJune 5, 2019

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A group, Voice of Northern Christian Movement in Nigeria, VNCMN, has alleged that since the emergence of Nasiru Ahmed El-Rufai as governor of Kaduna state, peace has evaded the erstwhile peaceful Kajuru chiefdom.

VNCMN Executive Director, Rev. Kallamu Musa Ali Dikwa, stated this in a strongly-worded letter to the United States President, Donald Trump titled: “Ethno-religious Clean-up of Southern Kaduna by Governor Nasiru Ahmed El-Rufai”.

The statement made available to newsmen, reads, “lt is very important to state that the Adara Chiefdom in Kajuru local government area of Kaduna state has had a good, cordial and peaceful working relationship with the successive administrations of former governor’s Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, Namadi Sambo, Patrick Yakowa and Labaran Yero respectively.

“However, since the emergence of Nasiru Ahmed El-Rufai, peace has evaded the erstwhile peaceful chiefdom. By virtue of his divisive poisonous utterances and policies, the people in Adara chiefdom have never been more divided along religious lines.

“He unilaterally proposed to create a purely Islamic Emirate for the handful of Muslims in Kajuru town over large swaths of ancestral Adara land. This coupled with vindictive arrests and detention of any outspoken Adara citizen has shattered any existing cordial relationship in the area.

“In the light of the foregoing, the Chief of Adara, Chief Dr. Maiwada Raphael Galadima was invited for a meeting with governor El-Rufai and while on his way returning from the meeting with the Governor, he was ambushed and abducted together with his police guard, wife and daughter. The wife and daughter were eventually released but the police guard and the Chief were murdered. Since then, the Adara chiefdom and the entire Kajuru local government area are faced with constant threats, attacks, killings and mayhem.

“This same governor Nasiru Ahmed El-Rufai in public told the entire world that he has given millions of naria to the Fulani terrorists to stop attacking people of Southern Kaduna.

“He (Nasiru Ahmed El-Rufai) saw that the Fulani terrorists cannot complete the work of cleansing the ethno-religious Southern Kaduna, governor Ahmed El-Rufai took over from the Fulani using the power of government on Southern Kaduna people to take over Southern Kaduna communities for Islam and Fulani ethnic groups abusing the power of government.

“This scenario raises the question why this unpleasant situation is only focused on Southern Kaduna which is predominately inhabited by Christians. Why is it that there is no government Gazette on district and villages restructuring (Amendment) order 2018 in respect of Northern part of Kaduna but only Southern Kaduna? Gazette are supposed to be made in respect of Emirates and Chiefdoms at the same time as published by the Kaduna state government of Nigeria No. 21 vol. 52 under the Kaduna state legal notice No. 1 on the 16th August, 2018 which enacted without due process.

“In line with the policy thrust of the present administration to reduce the cost of government, the state Executive Council resolved to restructure the said districts and villages which restructuring was effected with the making of districts and villages (Restructuring) Order 2017 herein after referred to as the principal order. One now wonders why this restructuring was targeted to only Southern Kaduna who have hitherto lived in peace.

“From the foregoing, it is clear that the focus of governor El-Rufai and the federal government are pointing to the Islamic agenda with a view to taking over all Christian settlements, villages, towns, districts, local governments and the entire state to the detriment of the Christians.”

VNCMN then demanded the intervention of President Donald Trump and the international community for a lasting solution to acts of lawlessness and intimidation of the Christian community in Nigeria.

The statement added, “The government has taken the Christian tolerance and kindness for granted thus the incessant hostility and ceaseless threats, attacks, kidnappings and mayhem leading to destruction of lives and properties.

“The government has backed the Fulani herdsmen’s perpetuation of evil under the guise of cattle rearing as a profession by enacting government policies such as cattle ranch business and grazing reserves to the detriment of the Christian communities.

“No wonder that the news going round is that they are to disburse over 100 billion Naira to Boko Haram and Fulami herdsmen ethnic militia as part of amnesty programme. All these are smokescreen policies to equip them with lethal weapons to harm the Christians.”

The Voice of Northern Christian Movement in Nigeria maintained that all security organizations in the country have failed to bring the menace to an end, noting that no single terrorist organization can be more powerful or stronger than the whole armory of a nation.