MBF demands fresh investigation into Southern Kaduna killings under El-Rufai
The Middle Belt Forum (MBF) has called for an independent and credible investigation into allegations of payments to bandits or other armed groups during the administration of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai.
The forum made the call in the face of the well-publicised denial by Gen. Martin Agwai that El-Rufai claimed his committee had recommended that the former governor pay the killers of Southern Kaduna people.
Briefing newsmen in Kaduna on Tuesday, the National Spokesman of the MBF, Luka Binniyat, said, “We want a review of unresolved cases of mass killings in Southern Kaduna during the period of El-Rufai’s tenure, including the circumstances surrounding the kidnapping and murder of Agwom Adara, Dr. Raphael Maiwada.Galadima in October 2018.”
The forum also called for a proper investigation into deaths and injuries associated with controversial demolition exercises under the administration of Nasir El-Rufai.
The Middle Belt Forum said the people of Kaduna deserved the truth, adding that Gen. Christopher Musa had raised a salient point and that the appropriate response was not intimidation, insults or political blackmail.
According to the forum, “The appropriate response is to investigate the issues and establish the truth.”
The Middle Belt Forum therefore said the mass sacking, combined with the failure to pay the full entitlements of many affected workers, must have contributed to hardship, despair and, in some cases, the premature deaths of former workers and their dependants.
The forum also alleged what it described as “insensitivity applies to the massive demolition exercises carried out during the administration”, stressing that homes, businesses, markets and other structures were demolished across Kaduna, with some of the demolitions defended by the government as urban renewal or enforcement of planning laws.
The MBF stated that in 2016, a 62-year-old woman, Mary Audu, reportedly died after receiving a demolition notice for her home in Gbagyi Villa. It added that in May 2023, during another demolition exercise in Gbagyi Villa, residents protested and members of El-Rufai’s KADVIS fired shots at them.
It added that a woman identified as Sarah reportedly collapsed and died, pointing out that the community later said four youths were killed and more than 25 injured.
“Development cannot be measured only by buildings demolished and roads constructed. It must also be measured by the lives protected and the people whose dignity is preserved,” MBF explained.