Terrorists, in the early hours of Saturday, launched a fresh attack on the Dogon-noma community, Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, and abducted 15 women and a man.
The attack came barely three days after one person was killed, and eight women were kidnapped in the Banono Angwaku community of the same local government council.
A resident of the area, Mr Istifanus Ma’aji, confirmed the figure to Sunday PUNCH on Saturday.
The former chairman of the council, Cafra Caino, had earlier confirmed the fresh attack to one of our correspondents.
Istifanus could only confirm that 15 women and a man were kidnapped.
He said, “We cannot authoritatively confirm the total figure, because most of the villagers ran for their lives when the attackers struck.
“We can only confirm the figure when we can access the village.”
According to him, the attackers invaded the village around 5.30am in large numbers and shot indiscriminately.
Caino said, “We have yet to get the number of casualties because the locals ran for their lives when the assailants invaded the community.
“The community had some time in 2019 come under heavy attack, leading to the loss of 74 persons; the community has recently been experiencing attacks.”
The Kajuru and Chikun local government areas had in recent weeks become the hotbed of attacks and kidnapping, causing tension in the state.
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Mansir Hassan, did not take his calls and had yet to respond to text messages sent to him on the attack as of the time of filing this report.
Anxious schoolchildren parents
More than a week after gunmen abducted 287 schoolchildren in the Kuriga community, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, anxious parents of the pupils have lamented what they described as a “total blackout” of information regarding the rescue efforts.
They also complained that they had yet to get the right support from the Kaduna State Government.
A parent of one of the abducted pupils told one of our correspondents on the telephone, “Since 2014, villages and communities such as Kwalakwangi, Dokan-Ruwa, Maikyasuwa, and Shadow have been deserted. All the 11 primary schools in those communities have been forcefully closed down for fear of attacks by bandits.
“At Old Kuyello due to the infiltration of the Ansaru (Boko Haram splinter group), only Arabic teaching is allowed in the primary school. The Ansaru dictates the curriculum based on its doctrine. These terrorists are a government and adjudicate in disputes in that area.”
A community leader in Kuriga, Jubrin Aminu, said since the abduction of the schoolchildren, there had been tension in the community, as most of the parents of the abducted were traumatised.
“The stage of their trauma can be likened to a sick person who needs oxygen to survive. We are worried that since the hurried arrangement for the governor to visit the community, no government official has visited us, and nobody is talking to us.
“The security situation in Kaduna is not getting any better.”
One of the parents alleged that Governor Uba Sani might have abandoned them and travelled to Morocco.
“We were deeply saddened when we learned that the governor travelled to Morocco instead of staying here to make efforts for the rescue of our children. He swore to protect lives and property, but we are saddened that he is not showing enough concern for the issue at hand,” the parent, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
However, Sunday PUNCH investigations revealed that contrary to the allegation, the governor did not abandon the parents to their plight by travelling to Morocco.
When the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Muhammed Shehu, was contacted, he denied that the governor travelled out, saying, “The governor was in Kaduna and everybody saw him granting interviews, and he also received the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the leadership of the House.
“Today (Friday), he attended a function in Kudenda and had a meeting with the National Security Adviser regarding the Kuriga community. He also granted interviews today (Friday) in Kaduna.”
Shehu appealed “for caution regarding unverified rumours so that we will not jeopardise the ongoing efforts towards rescuing the kidnap victims.”
Schools shut, communities deserted
Following the mass abduction of 287 schoolchildren in Kuriga, over 40 primary schools have been shut down for fear of being attacked, and many communities deserted.
The Education Secretary of the Chikun Local Government Area, Dr Ibrahim Bulus, disclosed this on Saturday to one of our correspondents in Kaduna.
According to him, the schools were temporarily shut down until when the government would beef up security in the troubled areas.
“If the government beefs up security in the troubled areas, we can re-open the schools next week. We have to ensure the safety of our students, which is more important.
“This is a great setback, particularly for us in the education sector.”
He added that the LGEA Primary Schools 1 and 2, Kuriga, were among the closed schools, in addition to those outside Udawa and LGEA Kaso village and schools outside Gwagwada and Kasarami clusters, adding some of the clusters had five to six schools.
A resident, who did not give his name, told Sunday PUNCH that following the attack on the Juma’at mosque at Unguwar Makera, Kuyello District, Birnin-Gwari Local Government Area, residents of the area had relocated to Layin Dan-Auta (New Kuyello) for safety.
Several residents of communities bordering the Chikun and Igabi local government areas as well as the Birnin-Gwari Local Government Area, such as Rumanan Gwari and Rumanan Hausa, located a few kilometres from Sabon Birni and the Kaduna airport have fled the communities, alleging that terrorists have taken over the communities.
Residents told our correspondents that aside the massive closure of schools in the areas, settlements such as Labi and old Udawa in Birnin-Gwari bordering Udawa in the Chikun Local Government Area had also become ghost towns.
Following the attack on the Juma’at mosque at Unguwar Makera, Kuyello District in the Birnin-Gwari Local Government Area, Sunday PUNCH gathered that most residents of the area had relocated to Layin Dan-Auta for safety.
Aminu said, “As of today, inhabitants of villages and towns along the Birnin-Gwari-Funtua Road have deserted their communities due to attacks by terrorists.
“Areas such as Farin-Batu, Kwasa-Kwasa, Gobirawa, old Birnin-Gwari, Layin Maigwari, Kirazo, Kiryoyi, and other communities along the route have been deserted.
“In the western part of Birnin-Gwari, particularly the Kakangi District, which is a gateway to the Kamuku National Park and the dreaded Kuyanbana forest in Zamfara State, villages like Katakaki and five others were overrun by the terrorists and schools and the health clinic built by the MDG in 2001 were closed. In the Birnin-Gwari Local Government Area, 46 primary schools have been closed due to insecurity.”
A resident of the Kuriga, Mr Habila David, who spoke with one of our correspondents on the telephone from Zaria, stated, “The Kuriga community, which until the abduction used to echo with the laughter and playful banters of its children, is now in a mourning mood.
“Since the terrorists stormed the local school and abducted scores of young pupils in a brazen act of violence, the parents of the abducted children have been living in anguish and despair as they grapple with the reality of their worst nightmare, especially when the terrorists demanded N1bn ransom.
“The agony of these parents is palpable, as they navigate through a maze of uncertainty, clinging to hope while grappling with fear. Their voices, once drowned out by the clamour of chaos, now resonate with a collective plea for justice and the safe return of their loved ones.
“In the wake of this harrowing ordeal, the neglect experienced by these families in the hands of both state and federal authorities has only exacerbated their anguish.”
He added, “The truth is that the government’s response to the Kuriga abduction has been met with criticism and frustration by the affected families. Despite promises of swift action and intensified efforts to rescue the kidnapped children, the reality on the ground paints a starkly different picture.
“For many parents, the lack of tangible progress in securing the release of their children has deepened their sense of disillusionment and eroded their faith in the authorities’ ability to protect them, and to me their fear is genuine.
“The glaring fact is that there is inadequate security measures in place to safeguard schools and ensure the safety of the pupils, and the authorities are aware of the proliferation of armed groups operating in Kaduna forests.
“With this in mind, and with the right intelligence gathering, they are supposed to be aware that educational institutions have become increasingly vulnerable targets for kidnappers seeking to extort ransom or advance their ideological agenda. One would have expected that the government would put enough security in the schools and other soft targets.”
Islamic cleric, Sheik Ahmad Gumi, had urged President Bola Tinubu to allow him to open negotiation windows with the bandits in a bid to facilitate the release of the schoolchildren.
He said, “Tinubu must not repeat the mistake made by former President Muhammadu Buhari, who refused to negotiate with the bandits.
“The government’s stand of no negotiation with the bandits is an unfortunate position. My advice is that the government should allow dialogue with the bandits not only for these Kuriga schoolchildren’s abduction, but all cases.
“The government should also use the same approach it used in releasing passengers who were abducted on the Abuja-Kaduna train in 2022 to release the Kuriga schoolchildren and others.
“I am ready to lead a holistic dialogue between the government and the bandits. It is my religious duty to do so for peace.
“I hope the present government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will listen by engaging with the bandits because the past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari refused to do so.”
The CPS to the governor, Shehu, said the state government was making frantic efforts to ensure the safe and timely return of the schoolchildren, stressing that security agencies were working round the clock to ensure their release.
